The Queen of the Evening Skies
by Tsuyazakura Kouyuki
Summary: It had been six months since Nanoha was stabbed by a Gadget Drone. She had recovered and taken a medical leave of absence to finalize her rehabilitation, which she took advantage of to enjoy the final months of her high school year. Yet life had more cruel surprises in store for her. This time, maybe only Hayate could save her from a destiny worse than death.
1. Yagami

_**Preface**_: A long, long time ago, I was a part of the channel #lililicious on IRC, where I met Nagumo, who is also an author on this site. We got to talk, and we eventually came up with a rough sketch of a storyline for "Mahou shoujo lyrical Nanoha." Years later, I finally found the time and passion to finally flesh out the story and begin to write it.

It may be a bit too late, but I guess better so than never.

Once again, I cannot promise regular updates, as I've never been busier in my life than I am right now. I'll do my best to keep the wait between updates reasonable, but I cannot make any promises.

If you do like the story or have constructive feedback for me, do let me know.

For now, I hope you will enjoy it.

PS: Much credit goes to Nagumo, without whom this story would never have existed. So thank you.

* * *

Yagami

✭ ✭ ✭ New Calendar 0065 ✭ ✭ ✭

_It is not too late yet, Presea Testarossa, _whispered the sweet, seductive voice that had been residing inside her head for as long as she could remember. There had been times when she wondered if it was responsible for her more violent moments… but she always dismissed the idea the instant it surfaced. After all, the voice had been providing her with vital knowledge she wouldn't have had otherwise. Periods of insanity, to her at least, were a cheap price to pay.

_That is true, _Presea thought. She was still falling into the iridescent void that stretched as far as she could see. She knew that unless there was something that would intervene, she would remain falling. For all eternity.

_Then perhaps you would reconsider? _

There was glee in the voice.

There was only despair in her heart.

_Yes._

The staff she held in her hand flared alive and reverted to its original form.

Impossibility was the word every mage associated with the act of casting spells in the imaginary space. Not so. Not true. Not if you had enough energy at your disposal to disrupt its effect first.

Power bloomed white-hot in Presea Testarossa's heart at the same time laughter rang like chimes in her ears. Not even the nine Jewel Seeds she briefly possessed yielded this much output.

_Good night and sweet dreams, Presea._

Heat engulfed her and white light blinded her vision. Presea Testarossa closed her eyes.

✭ ✭ ✭ Thursday, January 15th, New Calendar 0074 ✭ ✭ ✭

"No point being upset," said Yagami Hayate. "You'll age more quickly." She used her chopsticks to lift a piece of shrimp tempura to her mouth and chewed leisurely on it. Sitting opposite her in the school cafeteria was one of her two best friends, Takamachi Nanoha, who hadn't touched her lunch and was stirring the content of her similarly unconsumed glass of lemonade with the straw.

"I'm not upset." The voice of the other eighteen-year-old was calm and quiet, but the tight corners of her mouth belied her carefully hidden emotions.

"Heya, Fate-chan," said Hayate with a smile.

Nanoha nearly knocked the glassful of lemonade on its side as she turned her head so fast Hayate thought the girl was going to break her neck. What greeted Nanoha was an unresponsive wall. She had forgotten that she chose to sit with her back to the same wall because she wanted a view of the entrance to the cafeteria.

Hayate laughed into both hands. Her whole body shook.

"Not funny."

"Not to you." She wiped a tear from her face. "In any case, I don't see why you're feeling so…" she cleared her throat at a sharp look from Nanoha, "anxious. Fate-chan's going to turn down whomever put that love letter in her shoe locker."

"You don't know that."

"Sure I do. The last twenty-five victims would probably agree with me." Hayate looked around. Some of those were in the vicinity. "Want me to ask for their opinion?" She grinned.

Nanoha ignored her and continued to not eat her lunch.

"What a waste." Hayate reached over and picked up a wonton floating in Nanoha's soup. It was quite good. The other girl pushed her entire tray of food to Hayate's side of the table.

"Seriously. If she hasn't found a romantic interest from this school during the last two and a half years, she's not going to now." Hayate pushed the tray back.

Nanoha didn't say anything.

"Speaking of which, there's a question I'd like to ask you." Hayate ate another shrimp tempura while her friend looked at her suspiciously. "You've been friends with _the_ sexiest and most popular girl in school since you were _nine, _you sleep over at her house every other week, and you walk to and from school with her every day. You're _crazy_ about her. Why aren't you sleeping _with_ her?"

"Hayate-chan! What kind of question was that?!"

"A genuine one. I'm positively curious."

A long pause.

"I can ask the same of _you_." Nanoha's eyes gleamed in a way that gave Hayate pause.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about." She lifted her glass of iced water to her mouth. Only when she began to drink did she notice the straw sticking out of it.

"Then I'll ask the person whom you always stay behind after school to wait for."

Hayate choked. Nanoha smiled and added: "I wonder why she's been holing herself up in the teachers' lounge recently. She used to come here and eat lunch with… the three of us."

_Observant, aren't you? _thought Hayate, dismayed.

"She has a lot of grading to catch up on." She decided to take the proverbial gloves off. "And for _your _information, _I_ do get to sleep in the same bed and do _various_ things with her."

"What various… ?" Nanoha snapped her mouth shut.

"Oh, you sure you want to know?" Hayate laughed at the crimson color rising on Nanoha's face. "Let's continue this when you stop having to sleep on the _floor_, Nanoha-chan." She winked and grinned at the other girl.

_It's too soon for you to have adult conversations with me._

"Who's sleeping on whose floor?" the voice of Fate T. Harlaown said from behind Hayate's back. She nearly jumped from her chair. _Dear Mother of God!_

Unfortunately, Nanoha did. The top of her head collided with the very low, slanted ceiling. It was the reason why this very corner of the cafeteria was unoccupied during rush hour. Hayate only wondered who was the idiot that chose to put a table and chairs here.

"Ow!" The girl with the long pony tail doubled over and clutched at her head.

"Are you okay?" cried Fate, who rushed over to Nanoha's side.

"I'm… I'm fine," muttered Nanoha.

"There's a small bump here," said Fate worriedly as she examined the top of Nanoha's head. "I wish I could use magic to heal you. Does it hurt?"

"Of course it does," Hayate interjected. "You should kiss it better."

Nanoha's forehead nearly struck the edge of the table. She glared at Hayate.

"You know that doesn't help." Fate gave her a confused look.

"It doesn't, but I'm sure she'd like it anyway."

"Really?" The Enforcer turned to look at Nanoha.

The girl with the vividly bright copper-red hair froze dead as her complexion went scarlet. She looked like she really wanted to say yes but didn't dare, and really _really_ didn't want to say no. Her crush just appeared utterly confounded by her lack of response.

_I swear, you can be really dense sometimes, Fate-han._

"I'm fine, Fate-chan," muttered Nanoha. "Don't worry about me, and have a seat."

"Okay." Face still awash with concern, Fate sat down on the unoccupied chair. Hayate wanted to laugh, but she didn't want to die, so she kept a straight face. With much effort.

"So who was it, Fate-chan?" Hayate asked after a few moments of uncomfortable silence. Well, between the other two girls anyway. Hayate herself was having a lot of fun watching them.

"Who was what?"

"The one who gave you that love letter and asked to meet you near the swimming pool."

"The captain of the tennis club."

"A _girl _this time, wow. It's a first." Hayate retrieved a small notebook from her breast pocket and consulted the entry associated with the person in question. "Natsume Suguha. Three sizes: 84-60-85. Face: 8 out of 10. Average height, but _very_ pretty legs." She slipped the notebook back into her pocket. "What?"

"You sound like a dirty old man, Hayate."

"Tell me something I don't know."

"I also find that little notebook quite disconcerting. I don't know why you keep one."

"I like to remember the pretty girls in school, Fate-chan." _And I enjoy teasing _her_ whenever _she_ sees the entries and gets jealous,_ she finished mentally. "And don't worry, you're not in it."

"I'm not sure if I should be relieved or insulted." Fate laughed.

"Don't take me wrong. I'd love to record your measurements, but Nanoha-chan _will _kill me." The young ace of the Mid-Childan Aerial Tactical Instructor Corps, oddly enough, didn't react at all to the jab. She was busy staring holes into the table.

"_Anyone_ would beat you up for such lecherous behavior, Hayate."

_Only _your_ precious Nanoha will Starlight Breaker _me_ the moment I write down your _name_, Fate-han._

"So, what happened to Natsume-san?" asked Nanoha suddenly. She didn't seem to have heard a word that was exchanged between Hayate and Fate.

"Same story." Fate gave a sad, guilty smile. "I turned her down."

Relief was palpable on Nanoha's face. The last visible traces of pain departed. It was like she was never hurt to begin with. Fate, as usual, didn't notice. Given that this same event had occurred for the twenty-sixth time, it was rather incredible to behold.

"What exactly did you tell her anyway?"

"Why do _you _need to know, Hayate?"

"Because I require new excuses to use on the people who don't take a clue and keep pursuing me anyway. Knowing how blunt and ruthless _you _are, I'm sure you have some good ones."

"_That_ sounds awfully like an insult."

"Not intended as one. So, what did you say?"

"I said I was flattered, but I wasn't interested in having a relationship right now."

"Sounds like you wouldn't mind having a _girlfriend_ had you been _interested_." Hayate glanced at the girl with the pony tail, who was growing a little pale in the face. The girl was afraid of the answer Fate might give.

"I wouldn't mind." Fate tapped her lips thoughtfully. "Not that I ever gave it much thought."

Had Nanoha been alone, Hayate was sure the girl would have sobbed in relief.

_You're welcome, and you owe me some Häagen-Dazs. But sheesh, aren't you two hopeless without me._

"In any case, what were _you two_ talking about when I got here? I remember hearing something about someone sleeping on the floor."

"Oh, I was speculating that Nanoha-chan should be sick of sleeping on the floor whenever she slept over at your house."

"I'm not… Ow!" she yelped the moment the heel of Hayate's left shoe descended on her fully covered right toes.

"What's wrong, Nanoha? Your head hurts?" Fate raised a hand and gingerly touched the small bump on Nanoha's head. The girl looked ready right then and there to invoke healing magic and all of the normal humans around her be damned.

"Must be," said Hayate, grinning.

"And to your point, Hayate. I wanted her to sleep on the bed, but she always insisted that I did."

"She's considerate that way. But hey, I have a solution that will please _both of you_!"

Nanoha opened her mouth and closed it the following heartbeat, for she had recognized the look in Hayate's eyes. The other girl risked another stomp on her toes should she choose to speak.

"That is?"

"Just sleep in the same bed together. Your bed's big enough."

"It actually isn't. Not for two. _I_ don't mind but I'm afraid Nanoha may find it uncomfortable."

"Well, not point thinking that until you try!" Hayate declared cheerfully. "Right, Nanoha-chan?"

"Um… yes." The other girl murmured in a tiny voice and lowered her face. Her ears were red.

_You picked the right time to be brave, eh?_

"It's settled then." Fate smiled.

"You're a little eager, aren't you, Fate-chan?"

"Sure. Nanoha looks cuddlier than my body pillow." Fate's smile broadened.

Yagami Hayate was absolutely certain that her friend was joking, but that didn't stop Nanoha's forehead from landing on the surface of the table with a loud thud. Unfortunately, it looked like it was the _table _itselfthat was about to sizzle and melt.

Fate's jaw dropped.

"Um, why don't you get some food before lunch hour is over, Fate-chan?" urged Hayate.

"But Nanoha…"

"She'll be fine. Seriously, go before they run out of things for you to eat."

"But…"

"Please go, Fate-chan," breathed Nanoha, whose forehead was still touching the table. "I… I do have something to discuss with Hayate-chan anyway."

"Okay." The golden-haired girl rose to her feet and walked to the lunch counter. She sometimes would turn her head and looked back at the table in worries, though.

"You're _very _welcome, Nanoha-chan." Hayate put a palm on a part of Nanoha's head that was not hurting and mussed her hair. "Two cups of Häagen-Dazs would do. After school today?"

"Don't you need to wait for _her_?" Nanoha's forehead was still glued to the table. Hayate thought it was because the girl was too embarrassed to show her face.

"Didn't I mention tons of grading? It'll take her a while."

"Okay."

"What about you? Are you ready to abandon your beloved Fate-chan to treat me to ice-cream?"

"I'll invite her along. She's been dying to try their new lemon custard flavor. She'll be happy."

"Sheesh, and I thought I was going to have some quality alone time with you."

"Don't say that within _her _earshot, or I'll never score above 50 on her German exams."

Yagami Hayate laughed.

✭ ✭ ✭ 6:00 PM ✭ ✭ ✭

Signum sighed and stared at the mountain of homework on her desk that she'd have to finish grading by tomorrow's night. Not a single one of those blue notebooks belonged to a student in her class, as they all were _Mathematics_ homework, not German. When she asked Tsukimiya-sensei for some extra work––the same thing she did every day during the last month, only with different instructors––she didn't think that the other woman would dump this much _stuff _onto her lap and depart so quickly she could have sprouted wings. Signum never had a chance to rescind her offer. It was why she was still in the teacher's lounge two hours after the office became deserted and yet she had finished but a third of her self-inflicted workload.

Had her honor as a knight not been as rigid as it was, Signum would have walked away and hidden herself in her favorite refuge: _The Fire-breather Bar & Grill_ in Downtown Uminari City, where she had been spending her late evenings for as long as she had been asking for extra homework to grade from her fellow instructors. She couldn't possibly get drunk––her metabolism, enhanced by her vast magical reserve, burned away alcohol as fast as she ingested it––but at least her effort to overcome the hurdle did take her mind off things she didn't want to dwell on.

Something cold touched her cheek. She yelped and bounded to her feet and would have summoned Lævateinn into her hand too had she not heard the warm and sweet laugh that could only belong to Yagami Hayate, the Queen of the Evening Skies to whom she had sworn to serve.

"Master," Signum murmured.

The lovely girl with the short, dark chestnut-colored hair was standing an arm's length away, her lips graced with an amused smile. On the fingers of her right hand hung a plastic bag and her left was holding a cup of Häagen-Dazs ice-cream.

"You let your guard down," chided Hayate, smiling still. "I didn't even suppress my power."

"I… I am ashamed."

"You're just tired and hungry." The plastic bag rustled as a neatly packaged bowl––the label on its side read _Obaa-chan's World-famous Yakitori_––rose in the air at the same time the Häagen-Dazs cup did from her hand. Both landed without a sound on Signum's desk next to the pile of ungraded homework. The now empty plastic bag flew from Hayate's hand, tied itself into a knot, and fell into the trashcan under the desk.

"Sit down and eat, will you?" Hayate took her seat on a nearby swivel chair and crossed her right leg over her left.

There had been many times Signum wished the skirt of the school uniform were at least knee-length. Had it been so, she wouldn't have had so _many_ opportunities to observe how pretty, long, and slender Hayate's thighs and legs were.

_The girl did it on purpose, didn't she? _She averted her eyes and sat down on her chair. "How did you know I haven't eaten?"

"I came by this office when last period ended and saw how big your pile was. I knew you couldn't finish grading them quickly, and you're not the type to leave work with, well, unfinished work."

"Ah." Signum, eyes glued at the yakitori bowl, detached the pair of bamboo chopsticks from its paper lid and then peeled off the lid itself. The mouthwatering smell of tender cubes of grilled chicken, neatly arranged on top of a bed of steamed rice, permeated every breath she took.

Signum's stomach growled audibly and drew a soft laugh from her Master. She couldn't help it. The bowl had come from her favorite diner in town. The proprietor was an elderly woman who also made the best _sake_ in the world.

Signum put a small piece of chicken in her mouth and chewed on it happily. She, after all, had expected to not have dinner until much later in the evening and had been rather depressed about it prior to her Master's arrival.

"Look at you being so happy because someone gave you food," teased Hayate. "Who could have believed that you _are_ the Bureau's fearsome General of the Raging Flame?"

Heat spread on Signum's face. She kept silent and focused on filling her stomach.

"I called Shamal to let her know you and I went for dinner outside and wouldn't be home until late tonight, by the way."

Signum nearly choked on her food. Hayate chortled aloud.

"Why did you have to give that woman strange ideas? Life's hard enough already."

"Which part of what I said is strange?" Hayate tilted her head and grinned. Unlike most girls her age, Yagami Hayate didn't need to _act_ cute. Everything she did, to the smallest gesture, naturally radiated an adorable quality that made other people stop for a second look.

And stare.

And wonder why she wasn't their girlfriend.

Signum was hardly an impartial judge when it came to her Master but she doubted anyone would disagree with her.

"Well," Signum cleared her throat and yanked her eyes from Hayate's youthful face, "you made it sound as if we had dinner _together_." Shamal would never let Signum live it down.

"What's bad about that?" The eighteen-year-old girl smiled innocently. A jury of her peers would have convicted her on the spot. On whatever charges that delivered her to the defendant's stand.

Signum refused to take the bait.

Hayate shook her head ruefully. "Well, it's true we _aren't _having dinner together." Her eyes shone with a light that made Signum want to run away. "But we can be." Hayate rubbed her stomach.

"You haven't had dinner?"

"No. I only went for ice-cream with Nanoha-chan and Fate-chan."

"You did it on purpose." The bowl was in fact a little too big for one person to consume.

"Yup."

Signum sighed and lifted a piece of yakitori and some steamed rice to Hayate's mouth, which she happily consumed. Signum would rather get a paper plate from the other side of the room and let the girl feed herself, but when she tried last, Hayate invoked her power to reduce the plate to ashes. She wasn't very proficient with fire magic, but she was good enough at it to do so without burning the entire room down.

"You're smiling, Signum."

She immediately wiped the stupid grin––she was certain it was one––from her lips. It was hard to prevent it from coming back, too, for the strawberry glow on Hayate's visage was just too pretty.

Determinedly tight-lipped, Signum continued to lift more food to her Master's mouth.

_For all of your hemming and hawing, you do enjoy it, Signum, _she could almost hear Shamal's voice say in her head.

"That's enough for me, Signum."

"But you barely ate. You'll be hungry later." She hesitated. "Are you on a diet?"

"Yup. I need to watch my weight. You won't like me anymore if I grow fat."

"I'll still like you even if…" Signum snapped her mouth shut and cursed herself for letting her tongue flap so easily.

Hayate was smiling, as she usually did, but her eyes were bright and her cheeks aflush. She looked genuinely happy.

"I should stop talking to you, Master."

"Aw, why?"

"Because you enjoyed tricking me into saying things I didn't mean to say."

"If _you_ had been a little more willing to say what you _really_ felt," Hayate grinned, "_I_ wouldn't have tried so hard."

Signum sighed––which she had done increasingly frequently––and ignored the lovely girl sitting so close to her and proceeded to finish her dinner.

"I should go home," said Hayate. "Rein's not going to be happy if I stay out too late."

_Then perhaps you shouldn't have left _her_ home so you can play with my heart to begin with._

"What can I say, playing with you is a lot of fun, too."

Signum blinked in shock. Her jaw threatened to drop.

"I don't need to read your mind to know what you're thinking, Signum." Hayate winked at her as the former rose to her feet and walked away. "I'll see you when you get home."

Signum was so disconcerted by the nonchalance with which her Queen had left her side she was still staring at the opened door of the teacher's lounge five full minutes after Hayate departed.

She hastily consumed what was left of her dinner, disposed of the packaging, put the Häagen-Dazs cup inside the fridge on the other side of the office, opened a small dimensional bubble into which she dumped the ungraded homework, put on her jacket, and literally ran out.

She found Yagami Hayate standing near the school gates, her lips still adorned with a smile.

For the umpteenth time, Signum sighed and stopped next to the younger girl. _I should stop playing right into her hand, _she thought.

"Shall we go home?" Hayate slipped her left arm around Signum's right. An image of blood and destruction flashed across her eyes and would have made her flinch away from Hayate's touch if she hadn't had so much practice not to.

The terrible vision hadn't been haunting Signum nearly as often as it did a month ago, but whenever it returned, it did so with a vengeance.

Signum was increasingly confident that one day, it would drive her mad. But there was nothing she could do to stop it from happening. She was trapped.

"Yes, Master." With darkness swirling unchecked in her mind, Signum walked Hayate home.

✭ ✭ ✭ 8:30 PM ✭ ✭ ✭

"I don't see why you kept _asking_ for extra work," said the second-in-command of the Wolkenritter, whose freshly washed form was ensconced in a plush armchair in the living room of the Yagami household. Seated in an identical chair opposite hers, across from a table made purely of glass, was her leader. Said leader, who cast terror on her enemies with but a glance in their direction, was wearing a gloomy expression on her face as she tried to finish her grading before bedtime.

Shamal was tempted to help, but she wasn't a believer in encouraging stupidity.

Or an exercise in futility, for that matter.

"Don't say anything," Signum muttered.

"You ought to stop anyway. It's not working, and it won't." Hayate and Rein and Vita were all in the bath right now, so it was a very good opportunity to knock some sense into her leader's head.

"You don't know that."

"_You_ do. Has there been _a day_ during the last month did she fail to wait for you?"

"Well, no…"

"So what's the point in continuing this folly?"

A very, very, long pause. Shamal took sips from her cup of warm cocoa and patiently waited.

"I'm too old for her," said Signum grudgingly. "A few centuries too old."

"You're running out of excuses, aren't you? Should I repeat what Vita-chan said the last time you tossed that out here?"

_Yeah but you don't exactly look like a shriveled up old granny now do you, you overly endowed witch? _The words from the perpetually diminutive girl had been invested with so much bitterness and spite Signum herself had been reduced to a loss for words that lasted long after Vita went to her room.

"No thank you," muttered the Knight of the Blade.

"You should know better than to stand against Hayate-chan's force of will." Shamal finished her cocoa and rose to her feet. Her leader was a bit surprised when she found Shamal standing and looking down over her. "And why is it you can't be _happy_ that Hayate-chan's in love with you?"

"I…"

"Why don't _you _think about how Vita-chan feels? About how _I _feel?"

"I don't understand…"

So Shamal bent over and kissed Signum. On her lips. She had to say that the shock that drained all colors from the woman's complexion and dropped the red pen from her fingers was satisfying.

Shamal still felt occasional pangs of bitterness after all these years, but the fact that Signum was dithering on something she deep down wanted and was inevitable anyway _truly_ pissed Shamal off.

"'_Blessed be one whose love is returned'_." She turned and walked toward her room. "Be thankful."

✭ ✭ ✭ 12:30 AM ✭ ✭ ✭

Signum woke up screaming at the top of her lungs. In the darkness of the living-room and atop the sofa she sat and struggled for breaths and felt the weight of every drop of sweat beading on her eyebrows. Her entire body was shaking, her magic power a flux that betrayed the turmoil that roiled her soul.

A soft, cool hand touched her right cheek. Had she not already been in so much terror, she would have screamed again.

"Are you okay?" Hayate's voice said.

The younger girl was kneeling on the wood-paneled floor, her body clad in a pair of pajamas. As Signum's eyes gradually grew accustomed to the darkness, she could discern the worry heavy on her Master's face.

"Why… why are you out here?"

"I was going for a cup of water when I heard you moaning in your sleep. I was about to wake you because you sounded so," she paused, "frightened."

A chill rushed along Signum's every vein.

"It's okay," she managed. "Nothing more than a nightmare. You should go back to sleep."

Hayate studied Signum silently for a moment before she nodded and left.

The girl refused to do so again the third time she found Signum waking up in absolute terror. Instead, she sat down on the sofa and laid a side of Signum's head on her soft, soft lap. A hand then fell gently on her head and stroked it with a tenderness that made Signum want to cry.

"I'll be here until you fall asleep. Don't be afraid." Her Master's voice was soothing, so much so it swept away a good bit of the terror churning in her stomach. It was the first time she had heard Hayate speak in such a way. "Although… sometimes it helps to talk about what you saw in the nightmare. I'd be happy to listen. I can't imagine what could have spooked you, of all people, so badly, though."

"I don't remember," Signum lied. It was the same nightmarish vision that had been haunting her dreams for the last month. The only difference was that it had never come to her three times during the same night before.

"It's fine. Try to sleep."

"To be honest, I'm… a bit surprised, Master."

"At what?"

"At the fact that you didn't try to convince me to go back to your bed."

"Do you miss it?"

Signum didn't answer. Hayate laughed quietly.

"Well, I _do _miss you sleeping next to me, but I'm not so low I'd take advantage of someone during their most vulnerable moment." She knuckled Signum's forehead.

"I'm sorry, Master."

"Sleep well, Signum."

She closed her eyes and let herself go. Perhaps the cruel nightmares had decided that she had had enough of them for the night. This time, they let her be and allowed her a dreamless sleep. All that remained in her mind was the softness of Hayate's thighs, the gentle scent of her body, and the pleasant warmth that cascaded over her own.

✭ ✭ ✭ Break ✭ ✭ ✭

The woman in the armchair looked at the shadowy forms on their knees in front of her and felt her anger bubble to the surface. In the very beginning, when it was clear that the control she had integrated into the system, which was quite cleverly concealed were she to say so herself, had survived after all these years and even between the rebuilds and reboots, she had been so relieved. But it was not meant to be… and her hope was dashed. The failsafe mechanism she installed in the hope of preserving all that she held dear had broken down when she needed it most.

"Leave, all of you," she barked, nearly unable to conceal the rage in her voice. She had to remind herself that her servants were not at fault.

"As you command, so do we obey," replied her servants in unison. The incorporeal shadows that were their forms dissipated into nothingness.

A blindingly white light flared into existence, forcing the woman to avert her eyes. A heartbeat later, a second armchair appeared opposite hers. On it sat her companion, whose face was grim.

"Spare me your usual boring lecture," she said. "I am displeased enough tonight as it is."

"So it didn't work," observed her companion.

"If it did, we would all be home already."

"What you wish for is beyond your reach. Your efforts will only bring suffering to everyone, including yourself."

"Your point is?"

"Why can't you forget what's in the past? You can have a happy life ahead of you." A long pause. "I no longer mind, you know. I'll be glad to lend you my help as long as you need it. If you're… willing to come back with me, I promise not to make every of your days a struggle anymore."

"Generous of you," she said. "But I need not your pity. If you are done, kindly leave my sight."

"My offer will always stand in case you change your mind, Adrienne."

Her companion vanished.

_I will not, dear one, _she thought. _So much is at stake, and I will not stop until I reclaim what I have lost._


	2. Takamachi

Takamachi

✭ ✭ ✭ Sunday, January 18th ✭ ✭ ✭

Takamachi Nanoha dropped the spoon in her hand. It clanged on the dining table. Sitting across her was her best friend and secret crush, Fate T. Harlaown, who was smiling at her in such a way that she didn't think the girl heard what her mother, seated at the head of the table herself, said.

"Come again, Lindy-san?" She picked up the spoon.

The question, having come out like lightning under a cloudless sky and little to do with the current topic of the conversation, surprised her so much she thought she misheard.

"Oh," said the retired Admiral of the Time-Space Administration Bureau, a smile bright on her lips, "I was asking if you're the type who'd change her family name when she marries."

Her daughter chuckled from across the able.

Nanoha had a feeling that Fate had heard this before.

"I'm… not sure because I never thought about it. Why?"

"There's a report out in Mid-Childa that says professional women are now less likely to take up their spouses' family name upon marriage."

"Ah."

"To be sure, I do understand why and I _sorta_ agree with the trend," said Lindy.

"_Sorta_?" repeated Nanoha, who thought she saw a gleam in the woman's eyes as that word left her mouth.

"Because I'm _really_ hoping that you'd take the Harlaown name when you marry into my family."

The spoonful of tomato soup, which Lindy made from scratch and was excellent, went down the wrong pipe and Nanoha started to cough violently. Tears stained her vision.

"Here's some water, Nanoha."

She wasn't sure how, but in the blink of an eye, Fate disappeared from her own side of the table and materialized atop the seat next to Nanoha's. In the other girl's right hand was Nanoha's glass of iced water and her left offered soothing strokes to Nanoha's back.

She took a few gulps and managed to suppress her coughs somewhat.

"Are you feeling better, Nanoha-chan?" asked Lindy, sounding concerned.

"I'm sorry, Lindy-san," Nanoha coughed, "for making you repeat yourself again, but I must have misheard you…"

The retired Admiral opened her mouth, but Fate jumped in first: "Chrono has a girlfriend, kaa-san. You're quite fond of her."

"I didn't mean him, silly."

The beautiful girl with knee-length golden hair rose to her feet, planted herself behind Nanoha's chair, and wrapped her arms around Nanoha's neck almost protectively. Fate's chin rested on her right shoulder and Fate's breaths, so warm and fragrant, filled her nostrils.

Her heart skipped a beat and blood seemed to boil beneath her cheeks.

"Nanoha's off limits to you, kaa-san," said the Enforcer. "She's mine."

There was laughter in her voice, so there was no doubt that the girl was humoring Lindy and not being serious at all. The knowledge, however, didn't stop Nanoha's heart to leap up her throat and filled her with a strange sense of happiness.

Oddly enough, Fate's action surprised Lindy herself. She wasn't deterred for long, though.

"Not if I can get to her first!" declared Lindy, who bounded to her feet, took a pose worthy of the former Captain of the spaceship Arthra, and swung a forefinger at her daughter.

Fate immediately sank to one knee at the side of Nanoha's chair, took Nanoha's left hand into her own, and said to Nanoha in a dramatic tone: "I'd rather die than to call you my mother-in-law, so will you marry _me _instead?"

Nanoha actually laughed.

"Yes." She threw her arms around Fate's neck and whispered with every ounce of honesty in her body: "Nothing makes me happier." When she pulled back, she noticed a hint of bewilderment on the other girl's face that lasted for all of one second.

Because Lindy had announced in a feigned outrage: "I refuse to acknowledge this!"

"What does it take for you to do so?" Fate demanded.

Lindy's face turned devilishly mischievous. "Seal your proposal with a kiss. On the lips."

Nanoha thought her own face had just been lit on fire. In her embarrassment, her arms fell back to her sides.

Fate was a little stunned herself. Eventually, she found her voice: "I'm not going to make out with Nanoha in front of _my mother._"

"Spoilsport," said Lindy, chuckling. "Well, I'll install a camera in your bedroom later."

"We won't give you any chance!"

Fate and Lindy continued to go back and forth as if it was a well-practiced comedy routine. As they moved on to other subjects at the speed of a machine gun and with less and less seriousness, Nanoha managed to grow comfortable again and join in the conversation.

The dinner ended on a high note.

✭ ✭ ✭ Break ✭ ✭ ✭

Lindy Harlaown chuckled as she sat down on one of the sofa in the living-room and picked up the phone. Then she dialed the Takamachi household. She knew Momoko and Shirou would be quite amused to hear what happened during dinner.

She wondered how many hoops she'd have to jump through to get the TSAB to approve the installation of holographic communication in a civilian house.

✭ ✭ ✭ Break ✭ ✭ ✭

"So Lindy-san has a favorite nephew I never heard of?" said Takamachi Nanoha, most of whose body was immersed in the comfortably warm water of the spacious tub.

"She does," replied Fate, who was sitting on the floor of the outer bath chamber with her back leaning upon the sliding door made out of frosted glass. The girl had wanted to keep Nanoha company after she finished her own bath. "Even I don't know much about him because he's always away on some distant world. Exploration missions, apparently."

"And somehow Lindy-san believed that I'm a good match for this particular Harlaown?"

"That's my impression. She started mentioning him to me recently, though I'm not entirely sure why." Fate laughed. "I thought she was going to in front of _you_ this time, so I decided to throw a monkey wrench into her plans. Thanks, by the way, for playing along earlier."

"You are… welcome," said Nanoha. A long pause. "And since we're on the topic, do you agree with your mom?"

"About?"

"About me being a good match for whoever this Harlaown cousin of yours is."

"I don't."

"How so?" Nanoha was curious.

"He sounds like he's an explorer geek who's more interested in some extinct civilization than having a family. You deserve better."

"What kind of person… do I deserve then?"

"Someone who's always around to make you laugh. You're cute, Nanoha, but you're much, much cuter when you laugh."

Takamachi Nanoha, for once, couldn't come up with a word in response.

When she left the bathtub fifteen minutes later and looked at herself in the mirror, her face was still very, very red.

✭ ✭ ✭ Break ✭ ✭ ✭

"What are you reading, Arf?" inquired Lindy Harlaown, who had just come back from the bath.

The dog familiar, who had been assuming the form of a child, was lying on her stomach on the carpeted floor of the master bedroom with a big book spread in front of her. Usually Arf slept in Fate's bed––her tiny didn't take up much space––but whenever Nanoha came over, she would go to Lindy's room on her own volition and spend the night here instead.

Arf lifted the book to show Lindy the cover. It read: _"A Thousand and One Family-Friendly Jokes."_

"Where did you get it?"

"Fate's bookshelf." Arf flashed her an almost feral grin.

"I see," answered Lindy, not seeing at all. "And by the way, why did you bring _that_ with you? You know I have several." Lindy grinned. "Could it be that you can't sleep without it?"

"Not mine either." Another feral grin. "_I'm _not the one who can't sleep without it."

"Oh!" Lindy laughed.

✭ ✭ ✭ Break ✭ ✭ ✭

"No, you first," insisted Takamachi Nanoha.

"It's okay, you can climb on first," said Fate, her hand gesturing at the full-sized bed next to the wall and under the humongous window of her room.

"I don't want you to fall off the bed because of me later, Fate-chan."

The other girl, whose slender but curvaceous form was clad in a pair of black pajamas, studied Nanoha with a small, slightly exasperated smile on her lips for a brief moment. She then stepped forward, put one arm around Nanoha's shoulders, slipped the other under her calves, and gently lifted her up. Before Nanoha had a chance to react or enjoy the sensation of being carried in her friend's arms, she had been laid onto her back on the bed and next to the wall.

In the instant that followed, Fate lay down on one side on the bed and smiled at Nanoha.

"I don't like being manhandled like that." She pouted.

"I'd rather take your displeasure than see you end up on the floor. You _do_ roll a bit, you know." As if able to tell what Nanoha was about to say, Fate continued: "Besides, I do this for my own reason too."

"What may it be?"

"If _you're_ next to the wall, the only direction you can roll will lead you into my arms."

Nanoha blushed. _I'm not sure if she's an airhead or someone really good at smooth-talking._

"And why's that a good thing?"

"Someone stole my body pillow. I like holding on to that when I sleep."

"So I'm just a substitution?" Nanoha faked a pout.

"Definitely not." Fate smiled. "I imagine you'll be much softer and warmer."

_She's not flirting with me, is she? _thought Nanoha, embarrassed _and_ embarrassingly happy.

"Hayate-chan's rubbing off on you."

"Speaking of which," Fate tapped her lips with a finger, "she did try to touch my breasts several times lately." She burst into laughter at whatever she saw on Nanoha's face. "I'm kidding! Don't blast her with Raising Heart tomorrow, okay?"

"The thought never crossed my mind," Nanoha lied. _And why would I wait until tomorrow?_

"Anyway, mission unaccomplished." Fate shook her head in dejection. "You didn't even smile at the joke."

"Silly Fate-chan."

They spent the next five minutes or so just gazing into each other's eyes and smiling. Nanoha had no idea as to what Fate was thinking in her pretty head, but for her part, she was satisfied with being able to lie this close to the person she loved and admired every noble feature of her face.

Fate suddenly chuckled aloud.

"What's so funny?"

"I was thinking what would happen if you decided to marry my cousin."

"I'm not, but do go on."

"Think about it, you'll be Nanoha _T._ Harlaown. Another person may mistake you for _my _wife."

The silly idea amused Nanoha so much she couldn't help laughing. The smile on Fate's lovely lips broadened and turned almost too bright to look at. Nanoha's heart pounded madly in her chest.

"Say, Fate-chan…"

"Hm?"

"If you were a boy, do you think your mom would have tried to get me engaged to you instead?" Noting the surprise on her friend's face and hearing what she just said for the first time, she gave a start. "I'm sorry! I'm not sure what came over me. I shouldn't have…"

"You're asking me if my mom would try to get me engaged to the cutest, prettiest, and nicest girl in my class?" Fate smiled. "Don't say anything about Hayate. She's an old man in a girl's body."

Nanoha blushed. What came next wasn't what she expected: "Probably not." Fate laughed softly. "For one, she wouldn't have had to do _anything_. You wouldn't have remained single until now, because I'd have fallen in love with you and proposed to you long ago."

Although Nanoha was overjoyed to hear those words, sadness eventually dominated all else.

_Would have fallen in love with me, huh? _she thought. _Does that mean you never did, Fate-chan? _She looked up at the beautiful visage of her best friend and felt her determination grow firm. _I guess I'll have to try harder until you do._

"That's sweet of you." Nanoha smiled and rolled forward until a side of her head rested on Fate's arm and her own face was an inch away from kissing Fate's lips. "To show you my gratitude, I'll be your body pillow tonight, okay?"

Fate's other arm immediately slipped around Nanoha's waist and pulled her in even closer.

"I'm happy," whispered the other girl. "I'm also glad that I _was _right. You're so soft and warm."

Nanoha chuckled and eased her burning face into the hollow of Fate's neck. _She smells so good, too_.

"Nanoha?"

"Yes?"

"You're not sleeping on the floor again." Fate pulled up the blanket to cover both of them.

"I guess not."

Fate waved a hand and the fluorescent light on the ceiling went out. The room was immediately flooded with the silver luminescence of the moon beyond the glass windows above the bed.

Takamachi Nanoha closed her eyes and relished the happiness welling inside her.

✭ ✭ ✭ Monday, January 19th ✭ ✭ ✭

"What may you be doing, Fate?"

When Lindy Harlaown decided to stop by her daughter's room to make sure she and her friend weren't going to oversleep, she didn't expect to find Fate sitting on the floor with a side of her face on the bed and her right hand being held tightly by a still slumbering Takamachi Nanoha.

"I'm not sure," answered Fate.

"Start with how you ended up in that posture." Lindy was amused.

"I woke up first and found myself very thirsty, so I decided to go for a cup of water. When I got off the bed, Nanoha took my hand, told me not to go, and promptly drifted back to sleep." She laughed softly. "I don't think she knew what she was doing."

"And why is it you didn't pry your hand out of hers?"

"I tried, but I got a good look at her sleeping face, and I forgot about what I was going to do…"

"I see." Lindy had no idea how she managed to keep the hilarity out of her voice, but she did. "Just curious, how long have you been sitting there?"

"I didn't pay attention to the time," Fate replied casually, sounding as if she could care less. "Ten minutes, perhaps?"

_Bardiche, Raising Heart? _Lindy directed a telepathic thought toward the two Intelligent Devices resting atop the bedside table.

_Twenty-three minutes and thirty-six point zero zero five seconds! _they answered in unison.

"When did you two start sharing the bed anyway?"

"Last night, kaa-san. It was Hayate's suggestion."

_The Yagami girl knows something, _Lindy thought. _I can't be sure whether she's just smart or my girl's dumb in this aspect, though. _She gave an inward laugh at that.

"Did you enjoy the company?" she teased, having noticed that Fate hadn't lifted her head to look at her once.

"Sure. I got to hold her until I fell asleep, so I was happy."

_Her tongue is unusually loose this morning, _mused Lindy. _Must be because her attention is elsewhere._

"I think I understand why you want Nanoha to marry into our family so much," said Fate. "She's adorable, isn't she?"

"If you do, hurry up and ask her out." Lindy shook her head. "You know I don't mind you having a girlfriend, especially if said girlfriend is Nanoha-chan."

Her daughter straightened up and looked at her in surprise. "I thought you meant her for your nephew." She blinked. "Wait, what was it that you just said, kaa-san?"

Lindy patiently repeated.

"We're not like that," declared Fate. "She doesn't like me that way."

_Really? Have you _seen _the way she looked at you last night? Or every time she visited?_

Lindy opened her mouth and closed it immediately. _Well, it's not like she's going to believe me anyway._

"In any case, you should wake her up soon or both of you will be late to school. I'll get some coffee ready downstairs."

"Yes, kaa-san," Fate said in a half-hearted tone.

Lindy laughed quietly and left the room. Only after she had reached the ground floor did she realize what it was that her dear daughter actually said_. _She burst into laughter.

✭ ✭ ✭ Break ✭ ✭ ✭

Yagami Hayate thought she was going to be sick. Not only because the train car she was riding in was unusually crowded this morning. Not only because there wasn't a pretty girl in sight and the people standing so close to her were middle-aged men who seemed to look for an excuse to inch closer to her. It was _chiefly_ because of what was happening to her immediate right, where her best friends stood and were lost in their own little world.

Normally, the three of them would be able to occupy the seats and talk among each other on the way to school. Today, they ended up being the last to get onto the train. Which was why Hayate found herself with her back to the doors instead. Fate was in the same situation as Hayate, only by choice because she didn't want Nanoha to stand anywhere near the sliding doors.

It followed Fate's behavior pattern quite well, actually. If the two were going along the sidewalk, Fate would be doing so on the side of the cars. In case of rain, Fate would be the one holding the umbrella and it would tilt toward Nanoha's side so not a drop of water would touch her clothes.

One couldn't blame the Takamachi daughter for falling in love with someone like that.

But Hayate digressed.

What bugged her right now was the fact that neither of her friends remembered that she existed. Nanoha, standing within breathing distance to Fate, couldn't keep her eyes off of Fate's countenance while the latter was too occupied with making Nanoha laugh––it was a great success, if Nanoha's frequent genuine laughter was any indication––she didn't pay attention to anyone else.

Hayate couldn't help noticing Fate's interlaced hands on Nanoha's lower back. It was noteworthy because they appeared there after the train rounded a corner roughly and pushed Nanoha into Fate's embrace. Though her arms did loosen afterwards, her hands never left Nanoha's body and both girls seemed content, consciously or not, to let them stay that way.

_Note to self, _thought Yagami Hayate,_ flee to a different car next time. Lovebirds provably dangerous to sanity. _She sighed. _Does it kill Signum to act the way Fate-chan did? Sure, _I_ might have been too aggressive but it's no reason to treat me like the _plague_, is it?_

She noticed that Nanoha was no longer laughing. The girl was rubbing at her eyes.

"You still look drowsy, Nanoha," said Fate.

"Yeah."

"It took me a bit of effort to wake you this morning, too. I didn't ask, but did you not sleep well?"

"I did! It was just that it took me a while to fall asleep last night." Nanoha blushed.

"Must've been because of me." Fate's voice was apologetic. "Did I hold onto you too tightly?"

_Oh! _thought Hayate. _No wonder why they were so touchy-feely this morning. You lucky little rascal, Takamachi Nanoha!_

Nanoha shook her head hurriedly. "Of course not! I…" her voice grew smaller as she lowered her head, "I enjoyed it a little too much, I think." The girl probably didn't intend to say that last part out loud.

"Ah." Fate smiled, apparently relieved. "In any case, it'll take us another fifteen minutes to arrive, so do you want to get some shut-eye?" She patted on her right shoulder with her left hand.

Nanoha blushed harder and nodded before she stepped forward and delivered herself into her friend's embrace. In little time, a side of her face was resting on Fate's shoulder and she, from the look of it, immediately sank into sleep.

Fate simply leaned against one of the two metal poles near the doors and closed her arms around Nanoha. A whiff of magic rose in the air, too tiny to detect unless in close proximity. Fate had bound her feet to the floor and her back to the pole. A rougher turn than the last wouldn't shift her a fraction of an inch from where she stood.

Fate T. Harlaown never looked happier. Or more oblivious to the curious eyes looking her way.

Hayate turned around and pressed her face against the glass window of a door. She wanted to slam her forehead on it. Multiple times.

_Save me, Signum! Get me out of here! Watching them isn't fun at all!_

✭ ✭ ✭ Break ✭ ✭ ✭

"There's no reason why you and Master Hayate should stay here, Nanoha," said Signum. "It will take quite a while until the club finishes." The air around her was suffused with the sound of _shinai_ striking against _shinai_ as the students she supervised tried their best to hone their skills in preparation for the national competition at the end of the following month. Signum herself was dressed in pure-white _uwagi _and _hakama_, as befit the official advisor of the _kendo _club.

"Don't worry about us and pay attention to your students." Signum's young Queen gave a wave of her hand. "I won't be bored, and Nanoha-chan's happy where she is." She glanced sideways at the currently under-leave-of-absence Takamachi Nanoha, who's standing next to her.

The girl with the lustrous copper-red hair _did_ look content where she stood, for there was a small smile on her face as her eyes followed the movements of the only other person who wore white _kendo_ uniform in the _dojo_:Fate T. Harlaown. The young Enforcer was walking around to keep an eye on the practice matches and offer her expert guidance when she deemed necessary.

"See?" said Hayate.

"Well, I understand why _she's _here now," replied Signum. "But you…"

"That's discriminatory. Why can she come and watch the person she loves, but not me?" Hayate turned her pretty face and showed Signum a gently mocking smile.

Signum coughed, returned her attention to the _dojo_ floor, and pretended she didn't hear anything. Her Master laughed. Deep down inside, Signum repeatedly cursed Tsukimiya-sensei for having abandoned her duties. The woman had rushed out of school as soon as the bell rang and without her supervision, the Cooking club was forced to cancel its meeting. As a result, _these_ two members of the club had decided to come over here and bother Signum instead.

Well, she didn't really mind Nanoha, as she liked to stand quietly in a corner and observe. Hayate was a different story, for the girl never failed to distract Signum, and she took so much _delight_ from the fact.

Signum sighed.

"Fate-chan's pretty much an instructor now, isn't she?" asked Hayate.

"Yes. I'm very grateful for her help even though she got a rotten deal out of this."

"What rotten deal?"

"She joined this club to improve herself, but she ended up helping me train these girls most of the times because as it turned out, I'm the only one who can match her."

"It's understandable that you feel guilty, I guess." Hayate laughed softly. "After all, you're the reason all of those girls joined the club, not _kendo. _You're too cool for your own good, Signum."

Signum sighed again. Her Master was right. When ninety-nine percent of her students attended club activities because they admired her and wanted to be near her, she couldn't expect them to become as good as Fate was at the _shinai_.

"Too bad Fate-chan isn't the type to give up midway. She's just wasting her time here."

"She is. At least one of us is always too busy to spar against one another." She shook her head in disappointment. "And my students were too cowardly to ask her for practice because they've seen how good she is and don't want to be humiliated."

"I'd like to help you out then, Signum-san," said Nanoha with a small smile on her lips.

Hayate blinked at her friend. Then she, like Signum, understood. "Oh," they said in unison.

"Do you have spare _kendogi _set my size?" inquired Nanoha.

"There are a few in the locker room," Signum answered. "That way." She gestured at the north-east corner of the _dojo, _where a door stood.

"I'll be right back." Nanoha picked up her bag on the floor and walked away.

"It's gonna be good." Hayate chuckled. "She's been itching to do this as much as Fate, I think."

"They haven't done any practice match at the Bureau since that incident, right?"

"Yup. Fate-chan didn't want to put any extra stress on Nanoha-chan's body when it's still healing. But this should be okay. In fact, Shamal herself said earlier that she'd approve of a good physical exercise for Nanoha-chan."

"You went to see Shamal?"

"Yup. I gave Schwertkreuz to her for periodic checkup this morning. Rein's going to bring it back to me when Shamal gives it to her."

It was then that Nanoha returned in a black _uwagi _and _hakama._ When she walked past the wooden rack near the locker room, she picked up a _bokutō _and a _naginata_ and brought them with her to where Signum and Hayate stood. Not a single piece of armor was on Nanoha's body.

"No _men _or _dō _or _kote_?" inquired Signum's Master.

"It's not safe, Nanoha," added Signum. "I may not let you do this unless you put the armor on."

"Why should I?" Nanoha blinked at her, apparently genuinely confused. "Neither of us is going to hurt the other. And it's much easier for Fate-chan to move around without them."

"Let her." Hayate smiled and gave another wave of her hand. "They'll be fine."

"Thanks, Signum-san," replied Nanoha, her smile growing broader and brighter.

"Attention!" Signum bellowed at the same time she clapped her hands with a small bit of magic between them, allowing the sound to echo loudly to every corner of the _dojo_. The clacking sounds of _shinai _on _shinai _immediately ceased and all heads turned toward Signum.

"Clear the area around the ring!" she commanded. "Good! Harlaown! Do come to the center of the ring!"

Nanoha, one hand carrying the _naginata _and one the _bokutō, _advanced and stepped into the ring. The Enforcer, who was already within the painted rectangular border, looked worried. Nanoha smiled at her. As far as Signum could tell, the girl was sending her friend some telepathic messages and was very persuasive at it, for the concern and worry evaporated from Fate's visage and she nodded at her friend. Nanoha smiled again and tossed the wooden swordto Fate, who caught it in the air by the handle without even looking where her hand was moving. It drew a loud series of gasps from the awestruck girls standing a safe distance from the white ring.

The two girls stepped to the center of the ring, which was marked by a white X, and bowed.

"Watch closely!" Signum bellowed again. "Takamachi, Harlaown, you may start!"

Fate T. Harlaown transformed into a white streak that blazed toward her sparring partner with a speed that even Signum herself was incapable of. The girl in black simply stepped sideways and spun the _naginata_ in her hands and swung its curved wooden blade at the fast-moving blur. A loud clack rang in the air as Fate defended herself from the surgically precise strike and was forced to alter her trajectory.

Fate was neither deterred nor compelled to slow down. Even as her momentum drove her toward the white border and threatened to push her out, she made an abrupt and sharp turn and blazed once more at Nanoha.

The girl with the long pony tail, who had spun on her heels to keep her eyes on Fate, stepped one tiny step to her left and maneuvered the wooden spear in her hands to deflect the upward arc of Fate's blade that was aimed directly at her left wrist. The butt of the _naginata_ then took advantage of the force that the _bokutō _had applied on the wooden shaft to rotate and swing straight at Fate's face. The Enforcer evaded that easily by lowering her body and then countered with a swing of her sword, which struck the middle of the spear, before the two girls jumped apart.

The crowd went wild at the impressive performance, and went wilder still when Nanoha became the eye of the lightning storm Fate had transformed into. Every time Nanoha's counter move threw her off her path and hurled her at the white border, she seemed to bounce off an invisible wall the same way a beam of light would a mirror and hammered away at Nanoha again.

Fast, loud, and successive clacking sounds formed a loud staccato in the air while the _bokutō _spun around Nanoha so rapidly it seemed a hundred blades were aiming for her face, waist, and wrists. What they found, however, was nothing except the impenetrable defense raised by the _naginata. _Nanoha's slender form could have been a leaf surfing the sword waves woven by the _bokutō_ as her own weapon parried, blocked, deflected, and neutralized every attack thrown away with smooth, uninterrupted, and graceful moves. Cheers eventually grew so loud they drowned out the sounds of wooden sword striking against spear.

_Nanoha's in her Instructor mode, isn't she?_ said Hayate telepathically to Signum.

_Indeed, _she agreed. _She's very effective at it._

Anyone with a brain would take notice of the perfection that was Nanoha's defense against Fate's most fearsome weapon: speed. Instead of trying to match it, which would have been foolish and in vain, the girl in black had chosen to minimize her movements and focused her energy not on offense, but on defense and manipulating Fate's movements themselves. A smarter person would realize that Fate had been expending far more energy trying to not leave the ring and controlling her own momentum. Fate could only lose.

But neither of the two was trying to win to begin with. Fate was enjoying her chance to go all out. Nanoha was teaching the girls surrounding the ring that there was a way to defend against Fate's overwhelming offensive power. Both of them knew what each other was doing and knew what move the other was going to pull, and so acted accordingly. It was a beautiful dance that was perfectly choreographed and improvisational at the same time.

_They're enjoying themselves_, observed Hayate. _They look so happy._

Signum concurred. She could see very well the smiles were bright and wide on their faces.

_They're lucky to have one another, _she replied. _For a warrior, there are very few things that can make you happier than to have an opponent who matches you in power. And when that person's the one you love, you've just found one of those very few, precious things._

_Does it disappoint you that I'm not a person like that for you, Signum?_

She turned to look at the lovely girl to whom she had pledged her eternal loyalty. _Of course not,_ she replied. _For me, you are an ever rarer joy. You are the Master I have waited my whole life to serve._

Yagami Hayate smiled and rose on her toes. The kiss that touched Signum's lips happened so fast and ended so equally abruptly that before she could react, her Master had pulled away.

"For the honest words you seldom told me," murmured Hayate.

"You shouldn't have done that," Signum insisted. She tried her best to squash the happiness that was blooming inside her, and she was ashamed that she could not. "Someone could have seen."

"None did, so it's fine. Besides, it's _also_ fine if they see." The girl smiled. "I'm capable of jealousy too, you know. You're here every day, surrounded by cute girls who couldn't wait for a chance to jump you. It's high time that they know you belong to me… and only me."

Despite her words, Hayate's tone was lighthearted and chiming with mirth. But that didn't really make Signum feel any better.

Because at this very moment, the joy she drew from the kiss she secretly craved for day and night had died and the vision that tormented her so often in the form of horrific nightmares had come to her in broad daylight. When she looked at the eighteen-year-old girl, whose complexion was a beautiful pink and whose beauty normally would have consumed all of her attention, all she saw was a picture every stroke of which was drawn with fresh blood.

She wanted to scream, she wanted to cry her eyes out, but all she could do was clench her teeth and returned her attention to the ongoing match between Fate and Nanoha.

Signum knew that she was hurting Hayate, who loved her so unconditionally, but what else could she do when every fiber of her being was screaming at her and telling her that were she to submit to her true feelings, disaster would fall?

Sometimes, it didn't even feel like a premonition or a dark foreboding to Signum.

Sometimes, it felt like a _promise_.

✭ ✭ ✭ Tuesday, January 20th, 6:00 AM ✭ ✭ ✭

"_Danger, Master!"_

The Sealing Field rose around Takamachi Nanoha so abruptly and so quickly she didn't have a chance to get out of the way. By the time she fully activated Raising Heart, clad her body in her Aggressive Barrier Jacket, and summoned her staff into her hands, the scenery around her had turned deathly gray.

"Area scan!" commanded Nanoha as she raised her staff. The brilliant red jewel that was Raising Heart's core flared into life and began emitting waves of power that instantly reached every corner of the Sealing Field.

"_Two Jewel Seeds, Serial Numbers unknown! Temporary designation XXII, XXIII!"_

To say Nanoha was shocked was an understatement. As far as she knew, there _was _no other Jewel Seed aside from the twenty-one the TSAB had locked down in its secure vault.

But she didn't have time to remain shocked.

Above her head black clouds had emerged and gathered into an angry, roiling mass from which a scary amount of power could be sensed. Nanoha had a sinking feeling then that whatever came out of it could not be blocked by whatever Cartridge-powered shields Raising Heart could unveil.

So she unveiled the Axel Fins on her shoes and rushed away from where she stood.

It was a good idea, for lightning bolts, blindingly white and each thicker than a man's arm, struck the same spot. By the time the rocks had stopped falling from the sky and the dust had settled, a crater fifty feet wide and twenty feet deep had appeared where she used to stand. Had Nanoha been hit, her innate defense and her Barrier Jacket would have deflected most of the blast, but whatever that couldn't be deterred would've have paralyzed her long enough for the attacker to do to her whatever they wished.

For the first time since she was stabbed by that Gadget Drone, Takamachi Nanoha was afraid.

The black clouds overhead rumbled more menacingly than before.

"Raising Heart, disengage!" Her staff dissolved into the air and her Device reappeared as a small red jewel dangling from a cord around her neck. "Redirect all magical output to defense pattern delta one!"

Most of the energy that her Linker Core could produce flowed to her hands and enveloped each in a cherry blossom-colored halo and placed a spinning magic circle above each of her palm. At that exact moment, more lightning bolts arced down toward her as the air seemed to burn and be torn apart in the face of sheer, violent power.

"_Trajectories confirmed!" _Raising Heart's voice rose in her ears._"Optimal movements calculated!"_

Her hands were a blur and the energy around them flowed as she willed them to.

The lightning bolts _curved_ around Nanoha's body on either side as though she was a rock standing firm at the heart of the raging stream and struck the ground a hundred feet behind her and once again blasting rocks into the air.

_That worked! _thought Nanoha, excited and relieved at the same time.

Although a terrible shock struck her body every time the energy protecting her hands came into contact with a lightning bolt, she had managed to safely divert them from their intended target.

She was also lucky that the lightning _was _woven from and driven by magic. As such, they crackled through the air much more slowly than naturally occurring blasts, which had the entire force of nature behind them, therefore allowing her to react in time.

It was as if whoever attacked her was surprised by what happened, for a full minute passed before the lightning came down again, this time in greater quantity and ferocity. It was as if the sky was collapsing above her head.

Nanoha dispensed all of her magical output in a single burst of power. Her hands flashed toward the spear tips of the arcs of white lightning. Each of them, as soon as they touched her energy-wreathed palms and slammed shockwaves after shockwaves upon her body, rushed away from her… and toward the perimeter of the Sealing Field itself.

In a deafening roar the Sealing Field shattered under the immense destructive power of the white blasts. Wasting not a fraction of a second, Nanoha shifted the Axel Fins into overdrive and hurled herself a thousand feet above the ground, where no Sealing Field could possibly ensnare her.

Nanoha brought her hands together. Power exploded from between her palms and thundered away in every possible direction. Within ten seconds, the waves would reach Fate and every other security personnel the TSAB placed inside Uminari City. It wasn't the conventional S.O.S. signal––it would take her much more time to make one––as specified in the TSAB field manuals, but it would serve the same purpose.

The Bureau would know Takamachi Nanoha was under attack and respond with all of its might.

A white silhouette materialized in front of her. The body of Nanoha's aggressor was completely covered in a white cloak, the hood of which cast an impenetrable shadow upon their face. What Nanoha _could _see, however, was a gleaming dagger protruding from a long sleeve.

The aggressor lunged forward and the point of the dagger rushed straight toward Nanoha's left shoulder. The staff form of Raising Heart flashed into existence in her left hand as its jewel core blazed with an incandescence that rivaled that of the morning sun on high.

Lightning arcs bearing the color of molten gold exploded out of nowhere and formed a deadly curtain between Nanoha and the aggressor, forcing the latter to pull back.

About fifty feet above Nanoha stood Fate T. Harlaown in her black Barrier Jacket and white cape. Her right hand was holding Bardiche in its great scythe form, her left hand raised above her chest and aglow with power. Her face had lost all of its usual warmth and kindness. All that beautiful visage radiated at the moment was anger, cold and tightly leashed, and the specter of death itself.

"FREEZE!" shouted more than a dozen TSAB mages as they rushed upward, each brandishing a Device that was fully loaded and ready to fire.

The person in the white cloak and hood raised a hand––which was small and slender like that of a woman––into the air and snapped her fingers. White lightning spun out of nothing and wove a big cocoon of brilliance around her. By the time the light had faded away, the aggressor was nowhere to be seen.

Nanoha finally heaved a sigh of relief.

_Who could've thought running laps around the local park would come close to getting me killed? _she thought.

"Nanoha!" cried her best friend as she lowered herself to Nanoha's elevation. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm not…"

For the first time, Nanoha saw the sorry state she was in. Her Barrier Jacket hadn't taken the attacks very well. Though she deflected all of the white lightning blasts, they still managed to char the Jacket along its long sleeves as they curved around her. Worse, her hands had begun to shake, not out of fear but due to the shocks that had slammed against her at each and every moment of impact. Now she had to clutch Raising Heart more tightly in order to not inadvertently let it go.

All thoughts fled her head the moment Fate vanished the scythe in her hands and threw her arms around Nanoha.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" cried the other teenager, whose slender frame shook in a rush of emotions.

"I'm glad, too, Fate-chan," she whispered to the girl she loved and hugged her tightly.

Peace calmed Nanoha's mind and shooed away her fear and unease. In the arms of her friend, she knew none in this world could touch a hair on her head. So she smiled and closed her eyes.

✭ ✭ ✭ Break ✭ ✭ ✭

With a final flap of her six black wings, Yagami Hayate landed softly on the ground. Around her lay a dozen craters, each at least fifty feet wide, the sight of which was a shock to her.

Lips pressed tightly together, she raised her Schwertkreuz in the air.

_Rein, would you perform a spectroscopy on the magical residues in the area for me, please? _she requested.

The golden cross at the tip of Hayate's staff began to glow. Crystalline chimes rang in the air.

_Spectroscopy's done, Master, _replied Reinforce Zwei, who was currently in Unison mode with Hayate. _There's a lot of noise in the data due to the interference of the Sealing Field's residues, so we'll need to upload the data to the Infinity Library. I don't have the processing capacity to isolate the magical signatures from the noise._

_Please go ahead and do so, _thought Hayate._ By the way, how much power did the attacker release?_

The answer was a bombshell.

_That much?! Nanoha's lucky to be unhurt!_

While she was assessing the residual mana flux with her Linker Core, she suddenly realized something that raised goosebumps all over her skin. _I have a very bad feeling about this, _she thought.

✭ ✭ ✭ Break ✭ ✭ ✭

Lieutenant Colonel Joachim Eschenbach could only come to one conclusion after he watched for the fifteenth time the memories the young ace of the Instructor Corps had provided his office in lieu of testimony. The attacker wasn't targeting some random victim in Uminari. That much was clear, for the sheer sophistication invested into the crafting of the Sealing Field and the massive amount of mana fueling the attacks suggested that the attacker had aimed for a high-level mage.

And there was only one of them that would venture into the local park that early for her exercise routine.

Joachim sprang from his chair and hurried out of his office. He'd need to assign some escorts to keep Takamachi Nanoha alive.

✭ ✭ ✭ Break ✭ ✭ ✭

Takamachi Nanoha's heart was pounding, and it had been since she stepped out of the Occupational Medicine Office at the TSAB building in Downtown Uminari, for her friend Fate T. Harlaown had immediately taken her hand and refused to let go even as she offered her _testimony_ to the officer in charge. Fate was still holding this very same hand now, as the two of them sat on the backseat of the car Lindy herself was driving, and Nanoha wished the drive would last forever.

"Hey, Nanoha?" said the other girl suddenly. She had been quiet since she accompanied Nanoha to Lieutenant Colonel Eschenbach's office. All along, Fate had had an expression laden with worries. It still remained.

"Yes?"

Fate lifted Nanoha's left hand up and held it tightly in both of hers. "Would you like to stay at my place for a while? At least until we find out who attacked you?"

Nanoha smiled at the person she loved. "Are you that worried about me?"

She was already thinking of leaving her house for a while, as she feared her staying would invite danger to her parents. And there was no other place in Uminari that was safer than Fate's home, which was on the fifteenth floor of a complex in a very good neighborhood, with the exception of the TSAB building in Downtown, because it was accorded the best protection that the Bureau itself could offer to one of its retired Admiral.

"Not worried." Fate shook her head. "Terrified." Her voice shook. "I'm terrified out of my wits. I saw everything in the memories you showed the Lieutenant Colonel. Hadn't you been brave and smart, you'd have…" She closed her mouth and pressed her lips together in a thin line. Even her hands trembled around Nanoha's.

Nanoha's heart was thundering madly in her chest. Though her friend's voice wavered, her beautiful crimson eyes were alight with determination and, if Nanoha could trust herself to be objective and not overly wishful, love. She dared not speak, for she knew from the moisture in her eyes that no word would have come and only incoherent sobs would.

"I'll always remember the first time I cried myself to exhaustion and collapse." Fate put Nanoha's hand on her lap and held Nanoha's face with both of her hands. Blood rushed to her cheeks. The girl's palms were soft and the warmth radiating from her skin soaked into every fiber of Nanoha's existence. And it threatened to melt her into a pool of tears atop the seat.

The girls in school always called Fate a cool beauty, and she was. Even to Nanoha, Fate tended to keep a certain distance. But there was a day when all of that broke down and the invincible Fate T. Harlaown showed a side of deep vulnerability. It was the day Nanoha woke up from her coma and saw Fate crying her eyes out by the side of her hospital's bed.

It was the day after the one in which a Gadget Drone stabbed her and came close to killing her.

On that day nearly a year ago, Nanoha was finally be able to measure how much she was loved.

"To tell you the truth," continued her friend, "there had been times when I asked myself what I would have done if you had died. I never came up with an answer. Because I can't see a future that can be bright and happy… without you in it."

Nanoha was moved when she looked into Fate's eyes earlier. She was moved even more now after she heard these words.

"I'm sorry I made you cry." The girl with the golden hair drew a handkerchief and dabbed at Nanoha's cheeks. Face's expression was apologetic. "But I meant what I said. You're more important to me than even you may think, Nanoha." She drew a deep, shaky breath. "So I hope you'll agree to my request. I'd like a chance to watch your back during this uncertain time… and keep you safe. Please, Nanoha, let me be there for you this time."

Nanoha nodded her assent and threw her arms around the person she loved the most.

"Thank you," whispered Fate as she hugged Nanoha back.

"No, thank you… for telling me how you felt…" she murmured into her friend's right shoulder.

Fate tightened her embrace around Nanoha and raised a hand to stroke the back of her head.

To Takamachi Nanoha, Fate T. Harlaown was a person of constant surprises. Every time she became certain that the happiness she could attain just by _being _next to Fate, the latter would elevate her to a higher peak of joy. Every time she grew certain that she couldn't fall more deeply in love with Fate, the girl proved her wrong.

Like she just did.

Nanoha was, for the thousandth time since she met the girl with the beautiful eyes, glad to have been born.

✭ ✭ ✭ Break ✭ ✭ ✭

Lindy Harlaown thought her face was burning.

_Dear God! That sounded like a marriage proposal right there! Did she even realize that I _am _still here?_

She was pleased by this new development, nevertheless. The attack on Nanoha had accomplished one very important thing for her daughter: it had opened her heart and allowed all of her emotions, suppressed so carefully after all this time, to spill forth and allowed her to tell Nanoha what she truly thought of her.

Of course, Fate didn't say what Lindy hoped she would… but if Lindy knew her daughter, and she believed she did, there was a way to push her to do exactly that.

✭ ✭ ✭ 8:51 PM ✭ ✭ ✭

Signum thought that if she continued to lie on her side atop the sofa with her back facing where her friend Shamal was sitting, the latter would eventually give up and go away. She was wrong. The second-in-command of the Wolkenritter was intent on staying.

"I'm sick of seeing you on this sofa, Signum," declared the Knight of the Lake.

"Then go back to your room," Signum muttered. Except herself, all other members of the Cloud Knights have their own room. Well, sure, Zafira shared a room with Vita, but he liked to stay in his wolf form whenever he was home, so it really didn't matter that he had a room to himself or not. Signum, on the other hand, was tasked with protecting their vulnerable Master in the beginning nine years ago, so she had spent every night since then in Hayate's bed.

Until that fateful night a month ago.

"Tell me what has been bothering you, and I will."

"There's nothing bothering me."

"And you went to that _Bar & Grill _because you enjoyed beating up drunk men who hit on you."

"Please go away. I need to sleep. There's an early class tomorrow."

Silence.

"You have said repeatedly that you weren't right for Hayate-chan _because_ you were too old. Liar."

Signum clenched her teeth and said nothing in response.

"What you meant was that _our_ staying forever young is going to be a problem," Shamal continued in an even, calm voice. "Hayate-chan will continue to age when you do not, and one day, you two will begin drifting apart. You want Hayate-chan to be with someone with whom she can grow old together, don't you?"

Signum bit on her underlip and squeezed her eyes shut.

The Guardians of the Book were magical constructs and, as such, existed solely because the artificial Linker Cores in their body continued to give them life. As long as their Master was alive and the Cores able to absorb the mana abundant in the environment and produce it from the food they consumed, the Wolkenritter would never have to face the threat of old age and mortality.

"But it wasn't only that, was it?" said the other woman. "That couldn't have lasted for too long, given the strong feelings you have for Hayate-chan." She took a deep breath. "I sawthe despair in your eyes sometimes when she came too close to you. I saw the terror that blanched your face. You've gotten much better at hiding it, but I know everything that haunts you is still there, inside your heart."

Signum's whole body shook on top of the sofa despite her efforts to stay still.

"Tell me, Signum, what _frightens_ you so badly you continue to reject the person you love?"

"I don't know! I don't know!" Signum bounded to her feet and roared: "I DON'T KNOW!" Her self-control had been weakened to the point that power burst from inside her and exploded into the air. The sliding glass pane that would open to the backyard instantly shattered into a million pieces. The cold January night invaded the living room.

Only afterwards did Signum manage to wrestle back the control over her power. Breathing hard, she sank to her knees atop the wood-paneled floor. She was only thankful that there was no one else in the house. Hayate, Vita, Rein, and Zafira had gone for their nightly walk in the local park. She wished Shamal had gone with them.

"You… aren't lying," said the other woman, whose eyes were wide.

"Please, leave me alone…" Signum pleaded. "I need time to think."

"Fine," Shamal acquiesced. "I'll leave once I finish fixing the glass." She sighed. "The last thing I'll say to you is this: you've been thinking by yourself for a month. I think it's time for you to start confiding in the rest of us."

Signum lay down on her front atop the sofa and did her best to ignore the sounds of Shamal using her magic to reassemble the glass pane Signum broke.

✭ ✭ ✭ Break ✭ ✭ ✭

"I'm not that terrible a person, Shirou," declared Lindy Harlaown into the phone.

"Sure you are," replied the man in an amused voice. His wife, who was definitely sitting next to him and listening to Lindy from the speakerphone, could be heard laughing softly. "You know my daughter's smitten with yours, and you still try to make her life harder."

"If I don't, who knows when they're going to get a move on?" She sighed. "I'm sick of waiting."

"So do _we_," Takamachi Momoko announced, "but one would think that letting them stay in the same room would be more er… beneficial to our cause."

Lindy laughed. "You don't know my daughter. I assure you that doing so will get them nowhere."

"Guilt-tripping _ours_ into staying in your guest room is rather excessive," said Shirou, "don't you think?" Lindy could tell from his voice that the man was smiling. "You could've _asked._"

"Oh please! You're well aware that if I hadn't, she would've spent the night in Fate's bed and my _hospitality_ be hanged."

"No question, that." Shirou gave a hearty laugh. "I don't appreciate you pointing it out, though," he added. "You made it sound like our daughter's insistent on seducing yours."

"I wish she would! That would make everything _so_ much easier."

"You're hopeless, Lindy," said Shirou, laughing.

Lindy Harlaown laughed with him.

✭ ✭ ✭ 10:20 PM ✭ ✭ ✭

Takamachi Nanoha sat on the bed with her right shoulder against the wall and her eyes on her knees, around which she wrapped her arms. Her heart was aflutter, as it tended to whenever she replayed in her mind the words she had heard Fate say in the car.

_It did sound like a confession, _she thought. _And the way she looked at me…_

Nanoha hugged her knees more tightly. A smile curved her lips.

_Maybe she does have feelings for me. Maybe I won't need to hold myself back so much around her anymore. Maybe I have a better chance at this than I thought._

✭ ✭ ✭ 11:54 PM ✭ ✭ ✭

Fate T. Harlaown sat on her bed with her left shoulder against the wall and her eyes toward the sky, where the moon had been swallowed up by a sea of clouds.

She wouldn't sleep easily tonight.

She knew… because she tried. Because she failed.

Like she did the previous night.

She hugged her knees tightly and wondered when her body pillow, returned to her by a very non-repentant Arf who had recently insisted on sleeping in Lindy's room even though Nanoha wasn't staying in Fate's, had become so uncomfortable in the curves of her arms.

✭ ✭ ✭ Break ✭ ✭ ✭

"From what I have seen of Takamachi acting like a ditz, I have assumed it would be easy to neutralize her. I made a mistake."

"May as well give up, Adrienne," said her companion, seated in the same armchair she was in the last time. "Now that they're aware of the threat, you won't be able to get near her again."

"And what good does that do her? I only intended to enslave her mind for a brief amount of time once I captured her. Now I am forced to resort to plan B. Had the child not resisted so fiercely, she would have been spared a great deal of unnecessary pain."

"You… have a plan B?"

"Of course I do, Aria. I have not lived this long for nothing." Adrienne smiled and waved a hand. The holographic image of two Jewel Seeds appeared above her palm.

"What are you going to do with them? They're dangerous!"

"And useful, lest you forget. Since we do not need them on the way home, they are disposable."

"You can't possibly be using them for Harmonic Resonance!"

"Correct." Adrienne chuckled. "But worry not. The Resonance will take place far from here and inflict no damage upon this city. I would like to get this done without a making a mess. I do not need the Bureau like a monkey on my back, you understand." She leaned against the back of the armchair and began to relax. "The preparation for the Seeds will be done by the time the Restoration concludes."

"It's ironic that I lack the strength to stop you even though without my powers, you can't carry out your terrible scheme."

"Then you ought to help me out, for once everything is over, you will not suffer me again."

A long silence. Aria studied her with an unreadable expression on her youthful face.

"Adrienne, do you truly believe you can be happy again if you succeed in taking back everything the world owes you… by force?" she spoke up finally.

"Yes. But it is not a matter of _if_. It is a matter of _when_, my dear Aria."


	3. Nachthimmel

_**Notes**_: My apologies for taking so long. Things have been... hectic before and after New Year. As always, constructive critique is desired and will be much appreciated.

* * *

Nachthimmel

✭ ✭ ✭ Monday, January 26th, 1:30 AM ✭ ✭ ✭

Fate T. Harlaown rose from her bed and walked out of her room. She wanted to go get a glass of cold water from the kitchen, but she found herself stopping at the door to the room next to hers. That same door was now open, revealing an interior lit by the half moon dominating the evening sky. On her back atop the bed standing against the far wall, beneath the window that allowed the silvery light into the room, was Takamachi Nanoha, her curvaceous form clad in a cute pink one-piece pajama. Her blanket lay in a small pile at the foot of the bed.

Smiling, Fate walked to the bed, where she picked up the blanket and tucked her dear friend underneath. She was about to turn and leave when her eyes fell on Nanoha's moonlit sleeping face.

Fate hadn't a clue how much time she spent standing and admiring the beautiful sight. When she snapped out of it, she instead sat down on the bed. Almost absentmindedly she laid a hand on Nanoha's right cheek and caressed the soft flesh and silky skin with her palm.

Letting out a quiet sigh, Fate withdrew her hand and stood up. When she turned toward the door and was about to walk out, a small, drowsy voice reached her ears: "Fate-chan?"

Nanoha sat up on the bed and scrubbed at her eyes.

Fate sat down on the same spot she did earlier. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

"What are you doing in here?" It wasn't a reproach, for the other girl, half-awake as she was, had a little smile on her lips.

Fate told her why.

"That's so nice of you," said Nanoha, her voice still an adorable, sleepy drawl. Fate's heart gave a noticeable clench in her chest. "I think I forgot to close the door and pull up the blanket when I came back from the bathroom."

"Ah…" A long, uncomfortable pause came over Fate, for she couldn't find anything to say in the face of the cuteness overdose that was the girl sitting this close to her. When she found her tongue again, all she could manage was: "You should go back to sleep. I'm returning to my room."

The smile faded quickly from Nanoha's lips. She lowered her face and let her copper-red bangs obscure her expression. But Fate did manage to catch a glimpse of it, and all she saw was sadness.

"You're not staying?" Nanoha murmured in a quiet voice.

Fate's breath caught. Her lips remained closed. She had no idea what to say, because she couldn't tell if Nanoha was fully awake or still enveloped in a sleepy stupor.

A very soft hand curled around one of hers and squeezed it. When Nanoha looked up again, her eyes were wet and shining with a voiceless plea.

"I'd love to," Fate whispered, her voice more breathless and uneven than she intended. "Can I… stay with you tonight?"

Nanoha didn't answer. She smiled, laid down on one side on the far side of the bed, and lifted the blanket as if in a welcoming gesture. Her heart racing madly, Fate slipped under the blanket and lay down so she was also on her side and face-to-face with the other girl. And yet the pounding organ refuse to slow down. If anything, it only gained speed with every moment she spent gazing at Nanoha's adorable, sleep-stained features.

Fate couldn't hold herself back any further. She eased an arm under Nanoha's neck, draped the other across her waist, and pulled the other teenager into a tight embrace.

A loud gasp. A sharp, rapid rise of body temperature.

When Nanoha looked up at Fate's face, at which point she realized that little more than a hand stood between the tips of their noses, all of the sleepiness had already evaporated. Nanoha's eyes were wide, her cheeks aflush.

_Did she just wake up? _Fate wondered. _Do I… have to leave now?_

Only when Nanoha burrowed more deeply into Fate's embrace and eased her face into the crook of Fate's neck and blessed her skin with searing warmth did she let out a sigh of relief.

Which Nanoha heard. She chuckled softly. "You looked and sounded like you were afraid I'd kick you out of my bed, Fate-chan."

"I was," Fate confirmed, embarrassed. "I feared you were sleep-talking with your eyes open earlier." The chuckle became a laugh. "Do you even remember what you said?"

Nanoha fell quiet as her body heat rose sharply again. The answer she gave was soft: "I do now."

"Did you really want me to stay that much… or was it something you didn't mean to say?"

"It's kinda obvious, don't you think?" A long pause. "I did mean it. I really did. It's embarrassing but… I've always wanted to go back and sleep in your bed."

"Then why didn't you say anything?" Fate murmured, feeling as if a huge rock had been lifted off her shoulders. "I'd have been overjoyed to hear that the day you moved into the apartment."

Nanoha breathed: "You would?"

"Yes," Fate confessed. "That night you spent in my bed gave me the best sleep I ever had. And to tell you the truth, I… haven't been sleeping as well since."

That was an understatement. Even after her friend had taken up residence in the apartment for three full days, Fate still tossed and turned in her bed for hours on end, knowing that the warmth and softness she craved to put her arms around and pulled against her body slept but a wall away.

And it drove her nearly insane with frustration. And it also made her afraid that she might have done something bad to Nanoha that night that the girl wouldn't want to be in the same bed with her ever again.

"Um… thanks?" murmured Nanoha, her voice a sweet, happy lilt.

"You didn't answer my question though. Why didn't you say anything?"

"How could I… after everything Lindy-san told me?"

That gave Fate a pause. It wasn't what she expected to hear. "What did she say?"

"She said she hoped I'd enjoy staying in the guest room. That she spent a great amount of effort cleaning it up when I was packing up at my house. That since I was going to live here for a while, she'd like me to have the comfort and privacy of a whole room, all to myself."

Fate blinked, surprised. _That didn't sound like kaa-san at all. What was she trying to do?_

"So, you know, I can't say anything to that. I feel like I'd hurt her feelings if I told her I wanted to stay with you instead."

"You don't have to," Fate said.

"I don't?" There was a hint of playfulness in Nanoha's voice, suggesting that she knew what Fate was about to say.

Fate's right hand started combing through Nanoha's long, beautiful copper-red hair. "No. I'll tell her that I'm going to sleep in your bed instead."

Nanoha pulled back to look up at Fate and showed her the smile on her lips. "For how long?"

"As long as you want me to."

"Can I take you with me when I return to my house?"

"Who says you can go back? You're staying here with me, forever."

Nanoha laughed, and Fate laughed with her.

"Hey, Fate-chan?" called the other girl after a while in a soft, quiet voice.

"Yes?" Fate closed her eyes and tightened her arms a little more so she could feel Nanoha more clearly with her front. She loved every rise and fall of Nanoha's soft breasts against her own. She, in fact, was afraid she couldn't stay awake for much longer because of how comfortable it was to hold Nanoha like this.

"Have you thought about what where you're going to live after we graduate?"

"I'm going to move to Mid-Childa. You're also doing the same, aren't you?" She waited for a nod from Nanoha and continued: "Kaa-san will stay here because she likes living on Earth much better, so I'll get my own place. Why did you ask, though?"

"Because I'm wondering… if you'd mind if I move in with you… and share the rent."

Fate couldn't believe what she just heard. Her heart was dancing madly in her ribcage. But she was taking too much time in replaying Nanoha's words in her head, and her silence sent her dear friend into a panic.

"I'm sorry for asking," Nanoha said hurriedly. "If you're not comfortable with it then…"

Fate laid a gentle finger across the other girl's lips and hushed her.

"Would you like to come to Mid-Childa with me next Saturday to look for a place?" Fate asked, her voice full of the excitement she couldn't conceal. "Kaa-san can set us up with an agent then."

A sharp intake of breath from Nanoha, on whose flushed face then bloomed a bright, huge smile. She couldn't say anything in response, but what Fate saw was more than enough.

"So you got the answer to your question," Fate murmured. "My turn?"

"Go ahead."

"How many bedrooms would you like our place to have?"

"_Our place_?" repeated Nanoha, her expression dreamy.

Fate's heart skipped a few beats. "Yes, our place."

Nanoha's expression nows turned a little shy, but there was a teasing gleam in her eyes. "Two."

"One too many, no?" Fate tried to feign sadness in her voice. She wasn't successful.

"Well, I'll need one for you to sleep in when you make me mad and I do want to kick you out of my bed." She laughed at that.

"Don't you think I deserve the sofa in that case? Or maybe the floor?"

"I don't have the heart." Nanoha lowered her face again, but not before Fate once again caught a glimpse of the shy smile on Nanoha's lips.

_It sounded like a married life I'd kill to have, _the thought came to her unbidden, to her chagrin. _A good married life in which my wife still wants me to sleep well even when she's angry with me. _Warmth exploded on her cheeks.

_Probably a life I don't deserve._

"In any case, I'm surprised you're so enthusiastic," continued the other girl. "Do you realize that you'll going to fall asleep looking at me and wake up seeing me?"

The image that Nanoha's softly spoken words painted quickened Fate's heart and filled her with an indescribable emotion. "Why is that a bad thing?"

"Because… it makes it look like you're married to me."

"And why is that… a bad thing?" Fate heard herself murmur. She tried to sound mirthful. She came nowhere close.

A long pause. A quickening of breath from the beautiful girl currently bathed in the silvery light. "Because it's not going to be easy for you to find a romantic interest."

"It's never been easy, and it won't be for another long, long while." _Maybe forever._

"Why?"

"Because it means I'll have to find someone I like more than _you_ first." Complete silence from the girl with the vivid copper-red hair, whose body was becoming noticeably warmer. "Sometimes I did wonder how I was going to feel when you get married, Nanoha."

"And?"

"I was too afraid and sad to continue wondering. Every time."

A sharply drawn breath. An explosion of heat from the curvaceous form cuddled in her arms.

"Then you should've taken the initiative and claimed me for yourself already," muttered Nanoha in a voice so low Fate could barely hear. She couldn't believe what it was that her ears registered.

"I'm… sorry?"

"Nothing!" Nanoha said hurriedly. "I'm just talking nonsense to myself. I guess I really need to get some sleep."

"You should," Fate replied in a voice that had grown uneven due to all of the emotions Nanoha's words had stirred in her.

"Good night, Fate-chan," whispered her best friend.

The moon chose that exact moment to hide itself behind the clouds and allowed the room to be plunged into darkness. It was in that same darkness that Fate felt the touch of something soft, warm, and moist on her left cheek. It lasted for no more than a heartbeat, but it suffused her entire body with heat and her mind with burning emotions she didn't want to harbor while the person she held in her thoughts nights and days remained ensconced in the curves of her arms.

Takamachi Nanoha had never kissed her before.

"Thank you," said the other girl, her voice a touch breathless, "for all of the nice things you told me tonight."

"You're welcome," Fate replied, feeling as if she was about to die from happiness.

"Then um… good night again, Fate-chan."

No more words came from Nanoha for the duration of the night. The memory of the kiss, quick as it had been, and of the feel of Nanoha's lips kept Fate awake for another few hours before she managed to drift off to sleep.

✭ ✭ ✭ 7:30 AM ✭ ✭ ✭

"Nanoha-chan," called Lindy Harlaown, who was sitting in the living room and reading the news on her holographic screen when she saw her––hopefully––daughter-in-law walk by with a towel draped over her left shoulder. The girl had woken up early this morning and spent the last hour on the treadmill in the exercise room. She would have preferred to go for a run in the local park, but she disliked being tailed by agents from the Bureau.

"Yes, Lindy-san?" Nanoha stopped and smiled at her.

"I know you're going for a shower, but would you mind waking Fate for me first? She'll need to get ready so we can have breakfast when you get out of the bathroom."

"Sure." Nanoha turned and headed toward her room.

_You're welcome, Fate, _thought Lindy.

Nanoha didn't know that Lindy was aware of Fate spending the night in her bed yet––she walked by the room earlier in the morning and saw them tightly cuddled in each other's arms because the door was left open––but Lindy was very happy that it happened. She wasn't sure who made the first move, but she was satisfied all the same.

She only hoped that they would take the next step soon. She did have a close friend who earned a living––a very comfortable one at that––as a wedding planner in Mid-Childa…

✭ ✭ ✭ Break ✭ ✭ ✭

When Fate T. Harlaown opened her eyes, no more than the length of a finger stood between the tip of her nose and that of Takamachi Nanoha's. The beautiful girl with the pony tail was on her knees and forearms, her upper body clad in a sports bra, white with blue stripes, that left bare her smooth and toned midriff and her lower one in a pair of black, short spandex shorts that left little of her long legs to imagination and clung all too seductively to the juncture of her thighs.

Though Fate sometimes got to see Nanoha wearing just as little––at the beach, for example––she never had a chance to appreciate her beautiful curves this close. So for the hundredth time since she lay down on Nanoha's bed last night, Fate inwardly voiced a thankful prayer to God.

Smiling, she greeted her dear friend: "Good morning, Nanoha."

The other girl gave a huge start and probably would have leapt off the bed and run away if Fate hadn't put her arms around her and pulled her down until her breasts rested firmly atop Fate's own. The distance between their noses was reduced to half a finger. Nanoha's cheeks were so red the heat emanating from them reached and caressed Fate's own.

"Your eyelashes are long and pretty, Nanoha," she said with a smile. Her hands were folded atop Nanoha's bare lower back, and the mere _feel _of Nanoha's skin, which was becoming increasingly warm, filled her head with thoughts that she did her best to ignore.

It certainly didn't seem possible at first, but the other girl succeeded in blushing harder. Fate felt as if she had put her face next to a fired-up gas stove.

_She's calm and resolute in the face of danger, _Fate mused, _but she's so shy around me. She's so cute._

"Um… good morning," Nanoha squeaked after a few minutes of searching for her voice.

"Good morning," Fate greeted her friend again. "Did you sleep well?" A quick nod. "Did you go for a run on the treadmill?" Another nod. "Should've waken me. I'd have liked to join you."

"Well, you have _one_ treadmill in the apartment," said Nanoha. Her voice was small and the blush on her face showed no sign of subsiding. The breaths that she released were warm and almost enough to make Fate drunk. "You'd not have liked sitting on the floor waiting for your turn."

"That wouldn't have been bad either." Fate smiled. "You do look um… sexy in this getup. I'd be happy watching you on the treadmill." Had she had a second chance, she would have used a different word, but the Nanoha she held in her arms right now was brimming with so much sex appeal that the word rolled naturally off her tongue.

Nanoha squeezed her eyes shut in embarrassment. Her curvaceous body trembled in Fate's arms.

"Hayate-chan _is_ a bad influence on you," she muttered. "You kept teasing me." Even so, Fate saw the small twitches at the corners of her friend's lovely mouth. She would go as far as to say that Nanoha was trying to keep herself from smiling in pride at the compliment.

"I'm not teasing you," Fate murmured and feigned looking hurt. "I love the way you look. I'm not averse to waking up to this nice view every morning." Fate rubbed the tip of her nose against that of the other girl.

Nanoha pressed her face against the pillow on which Fate rested her head. "Stop it."

_She doesn't sound like she's mad. _Fate prompted: "Or else?"

"Or else… I'll be too happy to be coherent and continue talking to you."

Fate gave a soft, amused laugh and spent the next few minutes silently enjoying the pressure that Nanoha's youthful form exerted on her front. Her hands, meanwhile, lovingly traced the curves of Nanoha's lower back with her fingertips and drew from the girl quiet, happy coos. She wanted to lift her head and kiss along Nanoha's mostly bare shoulders. She wanted to ease her hands farther down to enfold the cheeks of Nanoha's bottom to learn how soft they were.

She couldn't be sure if Nanoha was going to appreciate it, however, so she abstained.

"What were _you_ doing on top of me earlier, Nanoha?" Fate asked, finding it increasingly difficult to think due to the storm of emotions inside her. "Not complaining, just curious." She laughed inwardly at her friend's sharply drawn breath.

"Lindy-san said to wake you so I um…" Nanoha fell quiet. Her body temperature spiked.

"That didn't answer my question."

"Well…" was the only word that Nanoha could utter. Fate believed that if she kept interrogating the other girl, the latter would burst into flames out of embarrassment.

"Whatever the reason, I'm happy you came back to bed." Fate snapped her fingers. The blanket bunched up at the far end of the bed rose into the air and draped over their bodies. "Goodnight, Nanoha." She closed her eyes.

"Don't _goodnight_ me!" Nanoha squeaked. "We have school this morning! You need to wake up!"

"Fifteen more minutes would be fine." Fate cuddled Nanoha more tightly in her arms.

"Fifteen more minutes would be too late!" While she did sound vehement, she lay still in Fate's embrace and, if anything, seemed content to stay that way. Smiling, Fate continued to hold her and relished the scent of perspiration rising from her cuddly body. Even when sweaty, Nanoha smelled good. "Oh jeez! What can I do to get you to wake up?" Fate wasn't sure how her friend managed to sound equally exasperated and fond, but she did.

"Give me a good morning kiss, and I'll be good to go." Fate opened her eyes and found herself gazing up at the face of her best friend, which was as red as a ripe tomato. Dazed by the adorable expression Nanoha made, Fate lifted her hand and stroked the girl's left cheek.

A long moment of silence.

"Kiss you where?" Nanoha breathed.

"Anywhere you like." Fate smiled up at the girl with the lustrous copper-red hair, slightly tilted her face, parted her lips just a little, and closed her eyes. Her heart slammed itself repeatedly against her ribcage.

She waited.

After what seemed forever, she began feeling Nanoha's face drawing closer to hers. She wanted to open her eyes so she could see the expression on Nanoha's visage, but she knew the moment she did would be the one in which the magic died. So she kept her eyes shut and patiently waited for a present she had been wishing for from the bottom of her heart.

Which didn't come.

"Fate, are you giving Nanoha-chan a hard time and trying to not wake up?" Lindy's voice echoed into the room, which caused the fragrant body on top of Fate to freeze. Lindy's footfalls, this time uncharacteristically loud, drew closer. In ten seconds, she would be peering into the room.

Heart sinking, Fate sighed and opened her eyes. As she was about to say something to her friend, her vision blurred and Nanoha's lips brushed upon hers in a quick but tender kiss.

Then the other girl rushed out of the room. Lindy's footfalls halted, then faded away.

For the next several minutes Fate remained on her back and stared at the ceiling while moisture gathered in her eyes, welled, and overflowed.

✭ ✭ ✭ Break ✭ ✭ ✭

"So," prompted Lindy Harlaown, who was seated opposite her dear daughter at the dining table. "What was it that you did to Nanoha-chan?" The girl had run out of her bedroom––well, _theirs _now––with a face that belonged on a sunset and dashed toward the bathroom. She had stayed in there for the last twenty minutes. If she insisted on not coming out soon, both of them would be late and she would earn herself a nasty cold.

"Well, _I _didn't do anything," answered Fate, who had already donned her uniform and was now chewing tastelessly on a slice of toasted bread. Her eyes were downcast, her complexion bearing a soft strawberry glow.

"I see." Lindy lifted her cup of coffee and took a sip.

"Anyway, kaa-san?"

"Yes?"

"Would you have some free time tonight? I'd like to talk to you about something… sensitive."

"I always have time for my daughter." Lindy smiled and took another sip.

Takamachi Nanoha chose that very moment to emerge from the hallway and sat down next to Fate at the table. The other girl, fully dressed in her school uniform, no longer appeared so flustered she could barely look Lindy in the eye when she ran past her. At this moment, she was projecting a calmness that led Lindy herself to question whether the whole thing was a figment of her imagination. When Nanoha smiled at Fate and asked her to pass the pepper, the latter looked like _she _was doubting her own memories.

Then Lindy saw Nanoha sprinkle pepper into her black coffee and the sugar onto her sunny-side-up egg, both of which she consumed without noticing anything. Fate, meanwhile, was too busy pursuing her own thoughts.

It wasn't easy for Lindy to keep a poker face.

Breakfast ended on the quiet side and the two girls washed their plates together at the sink without saying much prior to leaving the building.

NowLindy was _very_ curious as to what happened in that bedroom. She suspected she would learn tonight, when Fate would come to speak to her, though.

✭ ✭ ✭ 10:14 AM ✭ ✭ ✭

"So," said Yagami Hayate as she sat down on the grassy ground, "what did the honor student Takamachi want to talk about so badly with fellow honor student Yagami that the former forced the latter to lie to the P.E. Instructor and then dragged her to the back of the school?"

Hayate had known something was amiss as soon as her best friends arrived at the train station. Nanoha, though doing her best to hide whatever she was feeling inside, kept stealing surreptitious glances at her crush. That was why she wasn't surprised at all when Nanoha approached her during physical education.

"You didn't have to put it like that," protested Nanoha as she settled down next to Hayate.

"_I _didn't have to be the one faking a stomachache either," she pointed out, grinning.

"I couldn't. Fate-chan would have insisted on accompanying us to the nurse's office, and this is a conversation I… don't want her to be a part of."

"Are you telling me that to Fate-chan, my well-being doesn't come close to yours?" She winked.

Nanoha opened her mouth as if to argue and promptly closed it a heartbeat later.

Hayate laughed. "Yes, Nanoha-chan. You know that she cares about me very much, but there's no question which of us she would save if both were drowning and she could only help one."

The other girl said nothing in response and lowered her eyes to the ground. Hayate would go so far as to say that Nanoha was torn between being happy and disturbed.

"Oh come on, don't feel guilty." Hayate patted her friend on her back. "You know I'd rather save Signum if she and Fate-chan were in the same situation."

"That's equally disturbing…"

"It's about whom you can't live without." Hayate smiled and shook her head. "But that's enough about such a depressing topic. Tell me why you're in such a hurry to pull me out here."

"I kissed her this morning." Nanoha cupped her cheeks with her hands as her face was lit up into a brilliant red. "On her lips. And now I can't bring myself to look her in the eye anymore."

Hayate was so astonished she stayed silent and stared at her friend for a full minute. Afterwards, when the shock finally wore off, she said: "Uh… well, tell me the entire story, will you?"

So Nanoha did.

_It sounds like Fate-chan_ _was the one making the first move after all, _Hayate decided, very much impressed. _She was obviously flirting with her. I wonder why she chose to, though. It's rather unlike her._

"What do you think I should do, Hayate-chan?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"From what I've seen of Fate-chan this morning, she didn't look like she minded. She talked to you and me like she always did." Fate was actually more quiet than usual, but Hayate didn't believe it implied anything negative. Probably the girl was _overjoyed_ that Nanoha gave her what she wished for.

"Well, that's true…"

"I bet she'll be _very_ happy if you kiss her again." Hayate reached over and pinched Nanoha's left cheek. She laughed at the wince on Nanoha's face.

"I don't want to risk it. I did it in the first place because she was so cute when asking for a good morning kiss that I… couldn't hold myself back." Her voice dropped to a nearly inaudible level. "Plus, there's the fact that Fate-chan seemed to like it when she touched me and I her…"

"In that case, try touching her more often and see how she reacts." Hayate grinned. "Whatever you do, though, don't go overboard like I did with Signum. You know how well that went."

"Actually, you never told me what happened," said Nanoha curiously. "I didn't ask because I felt that you didn't want to talk about it."

"I got over it, so I guess I can now." Hayate smiled. "It went like this…"

✭ ✭ ✭ One month ago ✭ ✭ ✭

Signum nearly dropped the cup of hot cocoa from her hand when she stepped into the room and her eyes dawned upon the lovely sight atop the bed. Her Master, Yagami Hayate, was sitting with her back against the mattress and her entire body clad in nothing more than a towel that exposed a good part of her cleavage, her shoulders, and almost the entirety of her long, shapely legs. Her chestnut-colored hair was still wet and her eyes intent upon the pages of the Book of the Evening Skies, which stayed afloat in front of her face.

Hayate noticed Signum's presence. Smiling now, the former waved and gestured at the bed as if to tell Signum to sit down next to her. Throat too dry and face too warm for her comfort, she put her cup on the bedside table and did as bidden to and found herself exerting every iota of her willpower to keep her eyes from wandering along the younger girl's wonderful curves.

"You should put on some clothes," Signum said and couldn't help but wince at the reluctance in her voice.

"Oh." Hayate took a quick glance at her body and chuckled. "I had a flash of inspiration for a new invocation during the bath, so I just grabbed a towel and rushed out here."

"Ah."

"More importantly. What do you think about this?" A wave of Hayate's right hand sent the Book floating toward Signum. Her Master then began to talk in an excited voice as she pointed as several figures she freshly drew on the pages of the Book, but not a word of what she said managed to get into Signum's ears, for her concentration had given in and her eyes were free to look wherever they wished to.

It had been a long, long time since Signum shared a bath with Hayate, so she had no idea when the girl had managed to develop such a wonderful figure.

Her shoulders were straight and slender, their skin unblemished and shining with moisture under the fluorescent light, as they joined on either side of her neck, upon the nape and throat of which Signum had dreamed of pressing her lips.

Hayate's chest was no longer the gentle swells that Signum remembered. Her breasts had grown so full, so round, and so lovely she wished she could bury her oven-hot face in Hayate's tight and deep cleavage and simply _feel _the wonderful softness she knew she would find.

Signum had had many opportunities to admire Hayate's legs, but not until now did she see everything the younger girl had to offer. From the tips of her toes to the long and shapely thighs that joined Hayate's lower torso beneath the towel, every inch of moist, snowy skin Signum's eyes could feast her eyes upon, she wanted to caress for the rest of the night with her dry, dry lips.

And yet, what mesmerized Signum the most were the lucent eyes that were gazing into her very own and seemed able to divine her most secret thoughts.

Yagami Hayate had grown up to be such an amazingly beautiful girl Signum could barely control the feelings that were boiling the blood in her veins and painfully squeezing her heart.

"You didn't hear a word I said, did you?" remarked the young Queen of the Evening Skies, her lips lit by a mischievous grin.

"How do you know?" Signum admitted guiltily.

"Because every word I said was nonsense, Signum." Hayate laughed. "Anyone who tried practicing what I wrote would have better luck chopping off their hands."

Signum blinked in shock and remained dumbfounded for several minutes before comprehension dawned on her.

"Then what you said about inspiration in the bath was…"

"A lie," the girl finished for her. "I wanted to know how you'd react when you saw me dressed like this." Her smile widened until it nearly split her face in two. Another wave of her hand recalled the Book of the Evening Skies and returned it inside Schwertkreuz, the small Device bearing the shape of a golden cross that hung atop her inviting cleavage.

Signum couldn't find a word to say.

"I could see, you know," murmured her Master, who sidled closer and rested a side of her face on Signum's left shoulder, "which parts of my body that you looked at." Her voice was very soft and filled with happiness. "I could tell that you liked what you saw."

Flames erupted on Signum's cheeks. Still at a loss for words, though.

"Do you know how stressed out I was lately?" A small, soft hand curled around Signum's large, callused one. "I was afraid that you still saw me as the child you swore your sword to years ago. I tried so hard to get you to _see_ how I've grown, but you acted like you couldn't care any less."

_And can you even _imagine _how difficult it was to keep up the pretense? _thought Signum, distressed.

"I tried to wear less to bed every night," continued Hayate, her voice sad, "but you always pulled up the blanket and turned the other way. I tried to touch you more often to let you know how I felt, but you always brushed me off, stepped back, and ran away. I didn't know what else to do."

_I know, _thought Signum. _It hurt me too to see you unhappy, but it was the only solution I could come up with._

"But I'm glad I did this. Now, at least I know what I wanted to know."

A warm, soft hand touched Signum's right cheek and gently turned her head sideways. Now she found herself gazing down at a furiously blushing Yagami Hayate, who then closed her eyes and kissed Signum fully on her lips.

Nothing in this world had ever given her a more wonderful feeling than receiving a kiss from the girl whom she cared so much about.

The love Signum carried inside her, which wasn't different from that of a woman to her little sister in the beginning, had changed every time a new season arrived and reinforced the realization that Hayate was growing up to be a lovely girl.

With that single kiss, all of her long-suppressed emotions had exploded onto the surface.

And they destroyed whatever was left of Signum's resistance. All she could do at the moment was watch Hayate push her gently onto her back and settle down on all four atop her front. The fluorescent light from the ceiling seemed to be drawn to Hayate's body, all of the curves and softness of which were now completely bare to Signum's eyes because the towel had fallen off.

Heat was surging everywhere under her skin as her eyes fully registered the beautiful sight before her. All of her most primal instincts were urging her to lift her head, just slightly so, and close her mouth around the deliciously stiffened nub tipping Hayate's left breast and bathe every inch of the perky roundness with kisses. All of those instincts were also commanding her to slide down and ease her burning face into the inviting gap between Hayate's thighs, where she could lock her lips upon Hayate's softest part and taste every girlish flavor she had to offer. Signum could tell from the light in Hayate's eyes, too, that the girl would love to see that happen.

"I already know the answer," whispered Hayate, her face flushed and her voice trembling, "but I still want to hear it from you." She took a deep breath. "How you feel about me?"

"I'm in love with you," Signum whispered back. "More than you think you know."

Hayate smiled. The genuine happiness that shone on her face squeezed Signum's heart.

"Do you want me?"

"So much that sometimes I feared sleeping in the same bed as you," Signum confessed. "You being so close… gave me dreams that always made me want to cry."

Hayate's smile broadened as her complexion became a vivid red too beautiful to behold.

"What kind of dreams were those?"

"The kind where I get to touch and kiss every part of you." Somewhere in the back of Signum's head, a voice was screaming in horror. But unlike usual, that voice was barely audible now. At the moment, all that Signum could hear was the sound of her own heart pounding.

Magic sang in the air as the door, left ajar since Signum came in, locked into place. A sound barrier, too thin to be noticed by anyone in the house but not too thin they could hear anything coming from within, coalesced into a dome over the bed.

"They don't have to be _just_ dreams," intimated Hayate, her voice soft. "They can be reality in this bed, every night, as long as you wish them to." She took Signum's right hand and placed its palm on her cheek, which was so hot Signum thought her skin was going to burn. "All of me is yours."

Hayate kissed Signum again on her lips with much more passion than when she did last. Signum, against her own feeble will, returned the kiss with all of the desire pent up inside her. When they pulled apart, her beloved Master simply smiled and gazed down at her as if to tell her to finally take the initiative and do what she should have done months ago.

Signum obeyed.

Her hand, which was still on Hayate's cheek, coasted down the side of her throat, where it pried a soft gasp from her throat, before it caressed along her shoulder and finally closed around the girl's left breast, to the erected nipple tipping which it offered a gentle pinch. The soft moan that rose in response was so full of pleasure it muted away the tiny voice at the back of her head and led her to the conviction that what she was doing couldn't be more right.

"Don't," whispered Hayate the moment Signum's hand uncurled from the beautiful round globe. Hayate was about to say more too, but swallowed every word when Signum's fingertips fluttered downward just so she could luxuriate upon the downy smoothness of Hayate's deliciously flat abdomen. When she looked up and gazed into Hayate's eyes, all she could see was a wordless plea. The girl wanted much more than a simple caress.

"Farther down," she urged.

So Signum pushed her hand farther down and let it envelope Hayate's girlhood. What she held in her grasp at the juncture of those long, shapely thighs was a mound of silkiness softer than anything she had touched. There, Yagami Hayate was searing-warm and so delightfully wet Signum had to stop herself from lifting her hand to her lips and sampling the slickness coating her fingers. Her mouth letting out quick gasps and melodious cries, Hayate seemed to grow even warmer and wetter when Signum rubbed her lovingly and let her palm memorize the texture and explore every curve.

Hayate's breathtakingly beautiful countenance shone with love, joy, and need.

"Master…" Signum called, her voice breathless.

Her beautiful Queen shook her head. Signum had no idea how a simple gesture could radiate so much seduction and innocence at the same time, but dear God, it did. "Hayate."

"Does it feel good… Hayate?"

"It feels wonderful." The girl lowered her face, on which a joyous smile had bloomed, and offered Signum another deep, fervent kiss. "So please don't stop." Every word that she mouthed against Signum's lips pooled more heat to the already growing warmth nestled between her thighs.

Just when Signum thought she couldn't be any happier because she managed to bring this much pleasure to Hayate, all hell seemed to break lose.

Hayate's visage began to ripple in Signum's eyes. By the time the image stabilized, what Signum found herself gazing upon was a face about ten years older and far more beautiful and infinitely familiar and dear to Signum's heart. That same very same face was equally as red as Hayate's, covered with a thin sheen of perspiration, and haloed by a delighted glow that belonged on someone who had just experienced the time of her life.

_Come up here,_ whispered a sultry voice in Signum's ears. _Your turn._

The vision changed again. This time, Signum found herself gazing down at the same woman, in battle attire and seated on a massive throne made entirely out of white gold. In front of her stood many men, each armed to the teeth with magical Devices and wearing on his face an expression painted from tension, fear, and growing bloodlust. By contrast, the woman's face showed naught but sorrow, her lips wearing a pained smile that said she knew death was awaiting her and she had resigned herself to her fate. In the instance that followed, the woman closed her eyes, lifted her arms, and opened her hands.

_Goodbye, my beloved dawn._

White light blinded her eyes and a loud, heartbroken scream that was formed with Signum's own voice filled her ears at the same time that utmost horror and pain tore her heart into pieces.

"What's wrong, Signum?" called Hayate's urgent voice. "Signum!"

She found herself supine back atop Hayate's bed. Crouching over her in all four was her Master, still bare as the day she was born, with a face stricken with worry.

"Yes…?" Signum said, her voice weak and shaken.

"What happened? You just stared at me with a blank face and wouldn't respond to me no matter what I did. I… I didn't know what to do."

"I… I am sorry." Signum gently brushed Hayate aside and climbed off the bed. Her legs were so weak she could barely stand, but she managed to remain upright with her sheer force of will. "I'll sleep on the sofa tonight. Goodnight, Master." The last word she spoke drained all colors from the girl's face.

Before Hayate could make a sound, Signum strode out of the room.

It was the first night Signum did not spend in Hayate's bed. It was the first night she found herself curled up atop the sofa and trying to endure the terror, the cause for which continued to elude her, and the crushing pain that refused to subside.

✭ ✭ ✭ Break ✭ ✭ ✭

"I was upset with her for a couple of days," Yagami Hayate admitted. "You'd be too, wouldn't you, if Fate-chan told you she loved you, took you to her bed, left you there half-way through without a word of explanation, then acted like nothing ever happened?"

"Signum-san must have a very good reason," said Nanoha. "She loves you too much to hurt you on purpose. You know that."

"I do. It's why my anger didn't last long." Hayate sighed. "I tried so desperately to get Signum to tell me, but when she doesn't want to do something, nothing short of a direct command from me can change her mind. I'm not going to do that."

"So you've been waiting for her to open up instead…"

"Little else I could do." Hayate sighed again. "Anyway, enough about my problem. It's not why we're here." She grinned mischievously at her friend, who was spooked enough by what she saw on Hayate's face that she backed off a little. "Want to go shopping after school today?"

"Sure…" Nanoha swallowed hard, "but what are we looking for?"

"Nothing in particular." Hayate gave the other girl another grin. This time, Nanoha looked outright frightened.

✭ ✭ ✭ 9:30 PM ✭ ✭ ✭

Takamachi Nanoha was wide awake when Fate entered the room, but she remained still with her front facing the wall and squeezed her eyes shut. Since the morning, she had had much difficulty engaging in a conversation with Fate, because every time she looked at the other girl's face, all she thought about was how soft Fate's lips felt when she kissed her. Even now, half a day later, she still hadn't figured out what to say.

"Nanoha?" Fate's voice was soft. "Nanoha?"

Nanoha didn't move a muscle on her body. She was afraid that if Fate knew she was awake and lay down next to her and said all of the wonderful things Fate liked to say when they were in bed, she would lose control over herself and did something even harder to explain like what she did in the morning.

A hand fell gently on and began stroking Nanoha's head.

"Raising Heart?"

"_Yes?" _responded the red jewel placed on top of the bedside table.

"If she wakes, please tell her that I'll be in my room tonight."

Nanoha's heart sank as panic welled in her. She wanted to toss the blanket aside and beg Fate to stay and ask her for forgiveness if the impulsive kiss was the reason behind Fate's decision. Before she had a chance, Raising Heart's monotonic voice had spoken again.

"_Would you tell me why you're not staying with Master?" _said Raising Heart, who then added belatedly: _"In case she asks."_

A moment of silence. If Nanoha had to guess, she would say that Fate was taken aback by the response. Usually, Intelligent Devices did not question as to why a command was given to them.

"I do want to," Fate replied, "but I don't expect to have any sleep tonight. I don't want to disturb hers either." Her hand moved from the top of Nanoha's head to her upturned cheek, which she caressed with the tips of her fingers.

"_She wouldn't mind. Plus, you and Master do not need to wake early tomorrow."_

Nanoha did have permission to take Tuesday off because she needed to go to the TSAB building in Downtown for her monthly checkup appointment. Although the Bureau mages assigned to her would provide escort, Fate didn't trust them and insisted on accompanying Nanoha even if she had to miss class. To Nanoha's surprise, Lindy granted her approval without a second thought.

"You're assertive today, Raising Heart." Fate laughed quietly. "To tell you the truth, I'd also like some time by myself to think about a few things. It's difficult to do that around your Master because all I want to do is snuggle with her and forget about everything else. But keep that between us, okay?"

"_I understand. Goodnight, then."_

"Goodnight." Then Fate was gone.

"_You heard what she said, Master," _announced the red jewel a couple of minutes later.

Nanoha lay still on her side as thoughts whirled in her head. From the way Fate touched her and talked about her to Raising Heart, she didn't think the kiss in the morning had any adverse effect on the relationship between them.

_In that case, what could be bothering her so much she needs time alone to think it through?_

✭ ✭ ✭ Tuesday, January 27th, 11:01 AM ✭ ✭ ✭

"Took you more time to come back than I thought," said the prisoner seated in the armchair after Adrienne had materialized inside the chamber in a brilliant white flash and eased herself into her own armchair.

"Setting up the Seeds is not easy, Aria," replied Adrienne. "They're high-energy objects that must be shielded properly. I cannot leave them in dimensional space without ensuring that they will be safe from the Bureau's wandering space-time probes, can I?"

"I see."

"That is a mild response coming from you," observed Adrienne, smiling. "Are you feeling well?"

"There's no point arguing anymore. All I can do is pray that no one will lose their life over this catastrophic, misguided attempt of yours."

The older woman laughed, to which the prisoner sighed and said nothing. She frowned, however, when Adrienne snapped her fingers and three big crystal rings appeared out of thin air. Hollow inside, each was almost filled with a radiant liquid. The one on the left was shining with the color of emeralds, the middle of the cloudless morning sky, and the right of freshly spilled blood.

"The Restoration is almost done," mused Adrienne. "95% each. It should conclude soon."

"Adrienne?"

"Yes, little one?"

"Do you remember when you started calling me Aria?"

"I do not. It has been such a long time." Adrienne rose from her armchair. "But you must forgive me. I am quite exhausted, and I must rest. I will see you when everything is over, Aria."

She smiled and vanished in the same manner with which she had appeared in this very chamber.

"But I do, Adrienne," said the prisoner in a voice soaked with sorrow, "as well as the reason why. By all means, I should be hating you with all my heart… but I cannot."

Tears rolled hotly down her cheeks.

✭ ✭ ✭ Break ✭ ✭ ✭

Yûno Scrya was relieved to see the electronic report in his inbox. The data processing had taken so long he was afraid it wasn't going to conclude at all.

_Now let's see what you're hiding., _he thought as he sat up on his high-backed swivel chair.

Nearly a week ago, he had been surprised to read in a report from the TSAB office on Earth that an attempt for the life of his old friend and one-time crush, Takamachi Nanoha, had been made. The report included the spectroscopy data collected from the site of the attack by Reinforce Zwei herself along with the request to have the Infinity Library, Yûno's employer, analyze the data and match whatever magical signatures it could find against the TSAB's database.

Yûno had been shocked when he examined the data for the first time and saw how noisy it was. Despite knowing that it was going to be so due to the interference of the surrounding environment, he didn't expect to find a deliberate and exceptionally effective attempt to hide the signature of the caster.

Were he to make an educated guess, he would say that whoever attacked Nanoha had built into their Sealing Field a magical mechanism to distort the residual mana flux inside the space that it enveloped to prevent any subsequent attempt at uncovering the truth.

_It means the caster _is _in the TSAB database, and they know it._

Yûno had forwarded the data to the Forensics department of the Infinity Library and invoked his senior staff researcher status to fast-track the analysis and enable the usage of the quantum computer. It spoke highly of the skill of the attacker that even with all of the processing power behind one of the fastest number cruncher in the universe, it still took nearly a week for the Forensics department to finish their work.

Suppressing a thrill himself, Yûno opened the report and began to read from beginning to end.

It took him three more tries to believe what he read.

_This isn't a mistake, _he thought, stunned. _It's a 99.9% match with the records. It can't be a mistake. But that person couldn't have been the attacker! Not unless someone could be at two different places simultaneously!_

A name suddenly flashed in Yûno's mind.

_Oh God, _he thought in horror and bounded from his chair and rushed out of his office. _I have to let Chrono know. This is not happening!_

✭ ✭ ✭ Break ✭ ✭ ✭

The huge apartment was empty when Takamachi Nanoha opened the door. For as long as she could remember, Lindy Harlaown was always there to greet her as soon as she stepped inside.

But the retired Admiral wasn't going to be in Uminari for the rest of the week. Neither were Shirou and Momoko. Nanoha's parents had decided to close their cafe until the following Monday to go off on a vacation trip with Lindy _and_ Arf to Lindy's ancestral hometown.

In Mid-Childa.

Worse, Nanoha only learned about it during breakfast this morning, when Lindy announced her imminent departure in with a casualness fit for a discussion regarding the lunch menu. Nanoha's parents later told her during a phone call that they accepted Lindy's invitation because they were feeling burned out from work and wanted a chance to blow off some steam. Upon being asked as to why they never mentioned this to her, they explained that Lindy called them the night before and, as if it were sufficient a reason, ended the call.

_Parents, _she thought, dismayed, _I'm never going to understand them._

"You should change into something more comfortable, Nanoha," advised her friend as they put on their slippers and entered the living room. "I'll fix something for lunch."

Ten minutes later, Nanoha stood in front of the full-length mirror on the wall and stared at her reflection while heat rapidly gathered on her cheeks. She was wearing a white lycra camisole that clung to and flattered the curves of her breasts as well as the toned quality of her abdomen, but it wasn't the major contributor to how embarrassed she felt. It was the red sweat shorts tight as the camisole and cut as close to her bottom as possible so it could expose almost the entirety of her legs. Though the bikinis she owned revealed far more skin, what she had on right now _dripped _sensuality and suggested that they belonged in a bedroom and were meant to be discarded onto the floor ten seconds after they were put on.

Nanoha didn't buy them. Hayate did.

The other girl had dragged Nanoha into the local shopping mall yesterday and by the time they left, Nanoha held in her hands a big paper bag that contained the teeshirt, the sweat shorts, and a whole lot of stuff that even a drunk Takamachi Nanoha wouldn't have the temerity to put on.

It shocked her that she _wanted_ to put them on.

She still remembered the appreciative look on Fate's face the previous morning. She still recalled the pride that swelled while the girl told her how sexy she looked.

It was why she wasn't trying very hard to stop Hayate from buying the outrageous outfits.

Steeling herself, Nanoha made her way to the living room.

What greeted her wasn't the same empty living room she remembered walking into. It was one brightened by fresh, gorgeous flowers. On the glass table in the center stood a crystal vase from which bloomed a dozen roses, each large as a hand and of a different, distinct shade of red. Near the sliding glass pane that would open to the balcony sat several clay pots full of beautiful mountain lilies the deep lavender of which soothed away the harshness of the light of the sun glaring in from beyond the balcony. More crystal vases much smaller than the one on the table decorated almost every corner of the living room, each bearing a different type of flower of every possible color that Nanoha could imagine, their aroma permeating the air she breathed.

She was at a loss for words.

"Do you like them?" inquired her friend, who had appeared out of nowhere. Her hand slipped around Nanoha's right.

"I love them," she breathed, still finding it difficult to believe her eyes. "But it's still winter, how in the world did you find all of these?"

"Express delivery from Mid-Childa. It's mid-spring over there right now. Spent most of my time last night browsing their online catalog."

"They're so beautiful I wish I can sit here and look at them for the rest of the day… but why are they here?" Her breath caught as she turned her head and saw her friend gazing and smiling at her. "For me? But they must've cost you a fortune…"

"Would it make you feel better if I said I bought them because I was feeling particularly happy last night?" She lifted Nanoha's hand and rubbed its palm on her left cheek.

"Because?"

"Because I would get to spend all of today with you." She gazed into Nanoha's eyes and gave her a genuinely joyous smile. "Is it good enough a reason?"

"Since I moved in," she murmured, all the while wishing that her heart would stop doing somersaults in her chest, "there's barely any moment in which I'm _not_ next to you."

"There was almost always a third person," Fate pointed out. "Hayate. Mom. Arf." She chuckled. "I got to be alone with you only once two nights ago. Maybe you didn't notice, but you and I were asleep during most of it."

"What's good about being alone with me anyway?" Her eyes lowered to the floor, Nanoha realized that there were fewer and fewer thoughts in her head and it was becoming harder to concentrate on any of them. It was as if the warmth of Fate's soft hand was pouring into her and derailing any train of thought it came across.

"Because then I'll be the only one you look at. That makes me happy."

Words finally failed her. On her feet she remained, which she had no idea how, as a comfortable silence enveloped both her and the girl she loved.

Until both of their stomachs gave a low rumble and ruined the magical moment. When Nanoha turned around to look up at Fate, both of them couldn't keep a straight face and laughed.

"I'm sorry." Fate pressed her forehead against Nanoha's. "I haven't fixed anything for lunch yet. I was busy moving the flowers from their hiding place."

"I don't mind. I can wait a little more."

"Okay." Fate's small, cute nose touched Nanoha's and nuzzled it briefly. It made her want to tilt her face and steal a kiss from the pink, full lips right beneath. "By the way, did you already know about the flowers?"

"I didn't. Why would you think so?"

"You mean this lovely outfit wasn't my reward?" Fate faked a disappointed pout as her eyes left Nanoha's face and traveled downward. The lower the golden-haired girl's gaze went, the more Nanoha grew conscious of how much of her curves and skin the camisole and shorts revealed.

She blushed. "No, dummy. You told me to change into something comfortable, remember?"

"Then I'm happy I asked you to," Fate announced. "You're so cute in it. Plus, it shows off all the right places on your body, too." Her tone was sincere.

Nanoha thought that her head was going to explode from the incredible amount of heat that was pumped to her cheeks. She lowered her face and asked in a tiny but happy voice: "Do you like it that much?"

"Definitely."

"Then would you like to see me in this kind of outfit more often?" She couldn't believe what she was saying. Or the ease with which the embarrassing words had rolled off her tongue.

"Yes, but I'd like to be the only one who can."

"How come?"

"I'm afraid anyone you show it to would try to steal you away from me, you being so gorgeous and all." Fate leaned in and placed a kiss on the tip of her nose. "Rivals to compete for your attention isn't something I need now. I've become too greedy recently. I want all of it, Nanoha."

All Nanoha could do was remain still on her feet and look up at the other girl and try not to cry. The bright glow of affection that enveloped Fate's countenance made it so much more difficult.

Smiling, Fate added: "Wait for me, okay? I'll get the food ready soon."

Nanoha spent the following fifteen minutes on a sofa and tightly hugged a cushion in her arms as she again and again wondered if she had been waiting for something that had always been within her reach.

The lunch that followed was pleasant and much less excitement-inducing. Nanoha and Fate spent much time talking about school and their future plans over the Chicken Alfredo Pasta Lindy had served the previous night and Fate had reheated over the electric stove.

Once they had finished the food and washed the dishes together, they sat down on a sofa in the living room and watched a bit of afternoon news. It was then that Nanoha grew conscious again about the practically nonexistent distance between their bodies and how much she'd like Fate to put an arm around her shoulders and pull her in close.

"Hey, Fate-chan?"

"Hm?"

"Would you like to go for a walk on the beach? The weather is so nice outside."

"Do we _have_ to?"

"Some exercise is good for you after a meal."

"I know it is…" Fate lay down on her back atop the sofa and laid her head on Nanoha's lap, "but a walk seems so much _work_ on a day off. Can't I take a nap on this sofa instead?" Her smile said the young Enforcer meant not a word. She was playing around.

Face warmed to near melting, Nanoha drew a deep breath and gathered her courage before she bent down and kissed her friend's forehead. "Come with me," she invited, "and you won't regret it after we come back here."

"What's going to happen when we do?" inquired her friend, whose voice was equally soft.

"Well, I assume I'm going to be tired afterwards, so I'll change into some comfortableclothes and go back to my room to have some rest." Nanoha combed her fingers through Fate's silky hair and stroked her scalp. "You're welcome to join me then."

Fate's smile broadened. "And for how long do I get to stay in bed with you?"

"As long as you want to," Nanoha whispered. Her left hand trailed downward and her forefinger outlined Fate's full, moist lips. She smiled as Fate opened her mouth and closed it around the fingertip and sucked it gently. "I'll let you hold me and look at me as much as you like. You'll have my attention all to yourself today, Fate-chan." Toward the end, her voice had dipped so low she was afraid her friend didn't hear her.

Fate did, to her relief. The smile that graced her lips was beautiful and bright.

"Is it a promise?"

"Promise."

Nanoha had figured out why Lindy and her parents chose to take a vacation to somewhere so far away so abruptly.

She was grateful to them for it.

✭ ✭ ✭ Break ✭ ✭ ✭

Fate T. Harlaown glanced sideways at her friend, who, like Fate herself, was seated with her arms around her knees on the beach and watching the gentle waves roll inland and depart with the same soothing, merry sounds that accompanied their arrival. The sky was clear and blue, the sun bright, and the chilly winds bringing with them the salty smell of the sea to the beach that was at the moment empty aside from Fate, Nanoha, and three Bureau escorts standing awkwardly several hundred feet away.

Nanoha hadn't said anything to Fate since they left the apartment. During the half an hour they spent walking along the beach, hand in hand, the girl with the copper-red hair had looked ahead with a face that said she was deeply immersed in her thoughts.

But Fate was content with Nanoha's mere presence and the feel of Nanoha's soft hand in hers, so she kept her silence as well and followed Nanoha's lead.

Nanoha lifted her hands to her mouth and breathed on them to offer them some warmth. Although she had put on a long skirt, a sweater, and a scarf, she had nothing on that would shield her hands and face from the increasingly chilly winds. Even Fate herself felt her own hands growing a bit numb.

So she leaned over, slipped an arm around Nanoha's back, eased the other under her calves, and lifted the girl up before she deposited Nanoha between her legs so Nanoha's back reclined against her front. A soft gasp was all Nanoha could issue before Fate took Nanoha's hands, pale and cold, into her own and held them there to warm them up.

As if to show her gratitude, Nanoha turned her head slightly and nuzzled Fate's right cheek with her left. Color had begun to show on Nanoha's complexion again, but whether it was from shyness or embarrassment Fate had no way to tell and, honestly, could care less. What her eyes were riveted upon were the smile that widened and slightly parted Nanoha's dry lips, which were only an inch away from hers. The kiss that brought tears to Fate's eyes a little more than a day ago was brief, but she still could recall with perfect clarity how soft they were.

It took all of Fate's strength to stop herself from tasting that softness one more time.

It was then that a young man and woman, whose arms were linked, walked by. The woman only gave Fate and Nanoha a brief glance and a smile before returning her attention to her boyfriend, who grinned openly and surreptitiously mouthed two words to them as if he was afraid the young woman would get mad at him should she learn what he was trying to say.

Fate chuckled and gave him a proud nod. He winked and walked away.

Nanoha waited until the couple was out of earshot to pipe up: "What did he say, Fate-chan."

Fate tightened her arms around her gorgeous friend. "_Good catch_," she murmured into the back of Nanoha's head. The pleasant fragrance of the shampoo from Nanoha's early morning shower was still there, accentuating her girlish natural scent and making Fate's heart race. "He thinks we are a couple… and that I'm very fortunate in having you for a girlfriend."

"That would have been true if _I_ had been the one holding you." Nanoha wasn't looking at Fate, but Fate could see very well that the girl's ears were getting red. The singsong note in her voice suggested that if Fate were to look at Nanoha's face, she would find a shy, happy smile. "Do you know that many girls in our class are crazy about you? If I had a coin every time one of them said they'd love _you_ to ask them out, I'd be rich by now."

"I didn't know," Fate replied. The only girl who had given her a love letter was a grade below hers. "I'm not sure what part of me is appealing to other girls anyway."

"You're cooler than the boys. You beat them at any sports without any effort at all." Nanoha lowered her face and pressed a kiss on the back of Fate's right hand. "And you're so kind to everyone around you. There's little doubt as to why they think you'd be a perfect boyfriend."

"Not even close," Fate said. "If I were, a certain someone would have fallen for me already."

Nanoha shifted her body in Fate's arms until her right side rested on Fate's front. The face of the girl with the pony tail was scarlet, but her eyes were serious.

"Who's that certain someone?" she asked, her voice unusually quiet.

Fate gazed deeply into her friend's moist, lucent eyes. "You."

"Why do you want me to fall for you?" Nanoha's hands rose to Fate's cheeks.

Fate drew a deep breath and finally said the words she had been holding painfully inside her for so long: "Because I'm in love with you, Nanoha. Would you be my girlfriend and relieve our poor classmates of the fruitless desire to wait for me to ask them out?"

Though her eyes were shining with moisture, Nanoha's lips had widened into a smile more radiant than anything in Fate's sight.

"I'll be more than glad to." Nanoha said and tremblingly pressed her lips upon Fate's own.

When Nanoha pulled back and searched Fate's countenance with her eyes, on her warm, soft lips bloomed a huge, joyous smile that Fate knew was splitting her own face into halves. The expression Nanoha made was just too cute, too beautiful that Fate couldn't hold herself back any longer either. She cupped a side of Nanoha's face with a hand and turned it before she lowered her own face and captured Nanoha's lips.

Nanoha returned the kiss with as much passion in the beginning, but she pulled back and placed her left hand on Fate's mouth after a few more kisses. Nanoha's expression was shy.

"My bodyguards are still here," she said, her eyes downcast.

"Ignore them," Fate whispered, her heart pounding so hard it hurt. "Look at only me. Pay attention to only me, Nanoha."

Nanoha looked up at her with a face alight with love and fondness and a hint of exasperation before she closed her eyes and granted Fate's wish.

Fate had not a clue how long they spent offering one another passionate and sometimes even impatient kisses. She only grew aware of the passage of time again when they finally pulled apart to gasp for air.

When Fate tried to kiss Nanoha again, she laughed and shook her head. "It's enough for now, don't you think? I'm not going anywhere. We still have much of the day ahead of us." She lowered her face and her voice grew soft. "Be patient and wait until we get home, okay?"

"It'll require a bigger reward than just _being_ in bed with you to exercise such restraint, Nanoha."

"Anything you want," Nanoha murmured, her cheeks growing red again. "Anything I can give. I love you too much to refuse you anything." She hid her face in the crook of Fate's neck. It seared against Fate's skin. "Especially… when I know I'll enjoy whatever you ask."

"Aw, you're too cute." Fate squeezed the other girl in her arms. A quick glance at the surrounding showed her the three Bureau escorts who still standing where they were before but now with their backs turned toward Fate and Nanoha.

"I shouldn't have thought so hard about how I wanted to confess to you," said Nanoha. "Not that I came up with any good way to do so anyway."

Fate chuckled. "So that was why you looked so serious during the walk." She tugged gently at the pony tail. "You could've told me at home, you know."

"It's not romantic at all, is it? Plus, I want it to be special…"

"I see."

They stayed where they were for another few minutes and quietly enjoyed one another's presence as well as the relaxing sounds of the waves lapping at the sandy beach. Eventually, Fate began to notice that Nanoha's body was growing restless in the curves of her arms.

"Fate-chan?" Nanoha lifted her face from the hollow of Fate's throat and gazed up at her.

"Hmm?" Fate nipped lovingly at the tip of the other girl's nose.

"It's getting a bit chilly out here," Nanoha whispered. "Would you like to come home now… and help warm me up?" Her voice was breathless and her eyes shining with unvoiced needs.

"Yes," was the only word that Fate could say.

✭ ✭ ✭ Break ✭ ✭ ✭

Takamachi Nanoha was enjoying every second she spent kissing her lovely girlfriend between her widely spread and deliciously slender legs when the latter sat up on the bed and laid a hand on her head. As she lifted her moist lips from the soft and awfully cute girlhood not an inch of which she had left unloved with her mouth and tongue and fingertips, she saw a scarlet-faced Fate T. Harlaown shaking her head.

"No more." Fate's voice was hoarse, for she had spent the better part of the last hour moaning Nanoha's name and crying aloud as pleasure repeatedly seized her and held her in its thrall. "It feels too good, Nanoha. I'm afraid I'll pass out if you continue…"

"Okay." Nanoha kissed the girl she loved between her shapely thighs one last time before she sat down on Fate's lap, slipped her legs around Fate's slim waist, and delivered her equally nude and sweaty form into Fate's loving embrace. Fate's heart was pounding in her perfectly shaped breasts, the hardened buttons tipping which stroked the undersides of Nanoha's own with every shallow, hurried breath and pushed her closer and closer to the edge of release even though neither Fate's searing-hot lips nor inquisitive fingers were exploring the slickness between her thighs.

Nanoha squeezed her eyes shut and did her best to not let out any embarrassing sounds. Pressure continued to build inside her as her hips, against her own will, moved and allowed her most sensitive place to nuzzle and kiss the toned flatness of her lover's abdomen.

The other girl was delighted. "You're still so hot and wet, Nanoha." Her hands coasted down Nanoha's back and arrived at her bottom, which Fate began to caress and knead to her heart's content.

Nanoha blushed. "Not my fault. You're too good at what you do." She nipped at an earlobe with her teeth. "Plus, I was _really_ turned on earlier when you were moaning my name."

"Then I hope you'll be patient enough to wait a few minutes for me."

"Wait while you do what?" Nanoha smiled and ran her fingers through Fate's golden hair.

"While I catch my breath and recover the brain cells I lost because of the amazing things you did for me," Fate answered, grinning. "I don't think I can um… make you properly pleased if I'm not coherent enough."

Nanoha laughed. "Okay."

Fate lowered herself onto the mattress and drew Nanoha with her until she lay on her stomach on top of Fate and was again ensconced in the curves of her arms and enveloped in her body heat. Prior to today, Nanoha had no idea that being held by the girl she loved while neither had a stitch on their bodies would feel so good. Now she couldn't have enough of the wonderful sensation seeping into her from her lover's bare, sweaty skin.

A laugh chimed in the quiet air of the bedroom.

"What's so funny?" Nanoha pressed a soft, lingering kiss on the other girl's lips.

"I'm reminded of what happened yesterday's morning. Weren't we in the same position?"

"Yes." A pause. "Also, you were flirting with me then, weren't you?"

"I was," Fate confessed. "I'm sorry, Nanoha. I got a little carried away."

"It is okay," said Nanoha, "I was happy that you did… because it made me a little more certain that you had some feelings for me. I don't know why you acted that way all of a sudden, though."

That brought a smile to the Enforcer's flushed, glowing countenance.

"It was because of what happened the night before that, when I realized that youthought of me as more than a friend, or a best friend." Fate lifted Nanoha's face with her hands and kissed her.

"In hindsight, I think the way I acted around you recently were rather obvious." Nanoha laughed and rubbed her cheeks on Fate's palms. When the latter eased the tip of a finger between her lips, she took it into her mouth and moisten the slender length with her tongue. Fate's delighted look was everything she needed for a reward. "On the other hand," she whispered around the fingertip, "you hid how you felt so well I didn't have a clue. Tell me, Fate-chan, when did you know?"

"It was so long ago I can't remember exactly." Her girlfriend placed her vacant hand on the back of Nanoha's head and caressed her there. She purred in response to the loving touch.

"Then why did you wait for so long?"

"Because I was afraid." Fate kissed her again. "Since I moved to Earth, I've always thought I was one of the most fortunate. Kaa-san gave me a place I could call home and you were always there by my side, especially when I needed you most. But the more time I spent with you… the worse it got for me." A short pause. A sharply drawn breath. "Have you ever felt a need to hold someone so intense it _crushed_ you every time you look at her and realize you cannot touch her the way you want to?"

Nanoha's response was equally quiet: "Every day. For the last few years."

"Me too," said Fate, her voice at the verge of being shattered by emotions. "Every morning at the train station, the first thing I wanted to say to you was how much I loved you." Another pause. "I couldn't bring myself to each time because I had the feeling that if I tried to obtain more than I already had, I would lose everything."

Nanoha didn't say anything. She gazed into Fate's eyes and wordlessly urged her to proceed.

"My pretense fell apart the first time you slept in my bed," Fate intimated. "That night, I could _taste_ the joy of having you so close. Two nights ago, you talked about moving in with me. I barely slept afterwards because all I thought about was how overjoyed I would be while living under the same roof as you."

"Aw!" exclaimed Nanoha, her eyes tearing up due to the heartbreaking sincerity she heard.

Fate smiled. "I _was_ awake, you know, when you climbed onto my bed the following morning. You were trying to kiss me."

Nanoha blushed. "You looked so cute I couldn't help myself."

"I waited and waited and waited," allowed Fate, her voice adopting a playfully chiding tone, "but you didn't do _anything_. I was frustrated and saying to myself _'Please kiss me already' _the whole time. In the end, I couldn't wait anymore, so I opened my eyes to see what was taking you so long."

"I chickened out," Nanoha admitted, embarrassed. "I thought I had no right to steal your first kiss when you weren't even conscious. If I had known…"

"Seeing you crouching over me reminded me of what happened the previous night," Fate said, smiling, "I didn't know what possessed me, but I was thinking that I would _really _like to know how it felt to be married to you and be woken up by you every morning. I wanted to know so badly I acted it out."

Fate drew Nanoha's face down and eased it into the warmth of her deep, pretty cleavage. Unable to resist, Nanoha began lathering hot, wet kisses on every inch of skin she could find. Her action drew from her girlfriend a string of sweet, melodious gasps and earned her loving strokes on the small of her back.

"I cried after you took my first kiss and ran out of the room," Fate confided, "because I realized that being married to you would complete my life… and that it was something I wanted from the bottom of my heart. I wanted to run after you and tell you I loved you immediately, too, but that horrible premonition came back again, with a vengeance." She sighed.

"Is that why you spent so much time talking to Lindy-san last night?"

"Yes. She pointed out something to me that swept all of my fears and doubts away."

"Which is?" Nanoha lifted her face from the incredibly soft and pretty and perky cushions that were her girlfriend's breasts and studied her face. The smile on Fate's lips was full of affection. The sight grabbed ahold of Nanoha's heart and squeezed it hard.

"That the more I kept _you_ waiting, the more I would be hurting _you_." Fate pulled Nanoha up and hugged her tightly. "I was a fool to not have thought of it sooner. I should have noted that nothing was more precious to me than your happiness. I'm sorry it took so long."

"Don't apologize," Nanoha whispered in a voice that was shaken by the storm of emotions inside her. "You told me how you felt… and that's all that matters to me now." A sob escaped her lips. "I love you, Fate-chan."

"I love you too, Nanoha."

The girl she loved held her and offered her bare body gentle, soothing caresses while waiting for her emotions to subside. Once they did, she rolled Nanoha onto her back and lowered her curvaceous front onto Nanoha's own and kissed away the trails of tears staining Nanoha's cheeks.

"Now that I've gotten it out of my chest," Fate said, "we should move on to happier topics."

"Like what?" Nanoha replied, her voice soft and, despite what they had been doing in bed, shy.

Fate smiled. "Like what you would like me to do for you during the next hour." She eased a thigh into the gap between Nanoha's own and had it nuzzle her wetness. The contact with Fate's toned flesh sent a rush of pleasure across Nanoha's body and pried a gasp from her mouth.

"An hour seems woefully short," she whispered, which prompted a soft laugh from the other girl. "But I'll take it anyway." She took a deep breath. "Let me feel your lips there again, Fate-chan."

"Where is _there_?" Fate teased.

Blushing hard, Nanoha laid her hands on Fate's shoulders and pushed her gently downward and guided her to the growing, unbearable heat at the juncture of her thighs.

She squeezed her eyes shut when the other girl parted her legs and pushed her thighs as far apart as they would go. Her frame shook in excitement when she felt the warm breaths of her lover on her girlhood. When her girlfriend's mouth enveloped her nether lips and offered it kisses as deep and passionate as those given to her mouth, all Nanoha could issue were moans and gasps that only grew louder and more frequent as the afternoon wore on into the night.

✭ ✭ ✭ 8:00 PM ✭ ✭ ✭

Fate T. Harlaown finally decided that she already spent enough time gazing at the nude form of her girlfriend, who was on her front and immersed in a deep and peaceful sleep. Fate loved the elegantly curved shape of Nanoha's bare back. She loved the way the shallow trench of Nanoha's spine became the sensuous cleft separating the full, round, and baby-smooth cheeks of her backside. And she loved how cute each and every toe on Nanoha's equally lovely feet were, especially when Nanoha bit on a finger and trembled in shyness and pleasure both when Fate took each toe between her lips and adored them with kisses.

It was why it proved so difficult for her to stop marveling at the sight when she woke half an hour earlier and found the latter still soundly asleep.

Chuckling softly, Fate bent over and placed a kiss on Nanoha's upturned, healthily colored cheek before she climbed off the bed, put on a teeshirt, and walked out of the room.

_I wonder what she'd like to have for dinner, _she thought fondly. _She ought to be starving when she wakes._

She froze in her track the moment she stepped into the kitchen. In the very same room that she just left, where her lover was supposed to be asleep, power was burgeoning at an alarming rate.

And Nanoha was screaming in agony.

Fate's insides turned into ice as she sprinted toward the bedroom. _Nanoha!_

✭ ✭ ✭ 9:12 PM ✭ ✭ ✭

Signum dropped the china plate she was washing. Undeterred, it fell, struck and slipped off the rim of the sink, and proceeded to shatter atop the tiled floor of the kitchen.

The forcefield that had been enveloping the house for many years had vanished without a trace. Though the field held little power––it was meant to raise an alarm from any attempt at intrusion, not hold enough power to stop anyone from entering because then it would be a shining beacon to attract unwanted attention––the fact that it was swept away without making _a_ sound suggested the presence of a mage strong enough to realize it was there and obliterate it instantaneously.

By the time Signum arrived at the living room in her battle armor and with Lævateinn drawn in her hand, the rest of the Wolkenritter had assembled and were standing guard around Hayate. Her six black wings unfolded on her back, the Queen of the Evening Skies held Schwertkreuz in one hand and stood with her back straight in a manner that suggested that she was performing an omni-direction scan and ready to repel an assault wherever it might come from.

Confusion was evident on Hayate's face. Signum realized that her Master had discovered something from the scan, but whatever the result was, Hayate couldn't comprehend it.

A powerful barrier woven by none in the living room coalesced over the Yagami residence at the same moment in time that the front door, a thick slab of well-polished wood, _rippled _outwardly from its center as if it were water and someone had tapped on its surface. Shortly thereafter, the door began to fall apart the same way it would had it been made out of fine flour and standing in the face of a gust of wind. The wall around the door and even a part of the ceiling soon followed in the same manner, leaving behind empty space and the sight of the Yagami's residence's front porch, upon which stood the solitary form of none other than the last person Signum would expect to find attacking her home.

Fate T. Harlaown. The girl's body was obscured by a snowy cape and her hair tied at the nape of her neck by a ribbon in the exact same pristine color.

Cold sweat rolled down Signum's back. Though she couldn't be certain, she thought that the girl standing at the door now looked _younger_ than the Fate she had been seeing in school. And she certainly didn't recall seeing such an icy expression on Fate's countenance. Ever.

Light flooded the living room. A blood-red glow enveloped Vita's childlike body, sky-blue Zafira's, and emerald-green Shamal's.

Hayate's eyes were wide with shock.

"Stand down now, Wolkenritter!" Signum roared. "Do not attack!"

Zafira appeared in front of Signum in a blur and his armored fist was driven into Signum's stomach. Immense pain stabbed her and yanked a loud cry from her mouth as power exploded from Zafira's fist and rushed into her body, where it violently disrupted her magical circulation.

Her eyes darkened and her grip loosened to the point Lævateinn slipped from her fingers and fell onto the floor, Signum sank painfully onto her knees and toppled forward. She passed out before her body struck the hard-wood floor.

✭ ✭ ✭ Break ✭ ✭ ✭

Yagami Hayate failed to comprehend what she was seeing with her own eyes. Her Schwertkreuz was now on the floor, just like Lævateinn next to an unconscious Signum. Her left wrist had been seized by Shamal's left hand and her throat was an inch from being ripped out by the ominously bright emerald glows tipping the woman's right fingers. A quick look at Shamal's blank facial expression assured Hayate that should she move a muscle, the Knight of the Lake wouldn't hesitate to hurt her. So she only watched in horror as tendrils of power rose from Klarerwind and jacked themselves into her Linker Core and effectively locked down her magic power.

With an equally blank look on their faces, Vita and Zafira placed themselves behind Hayate and on her right side and looked prepared to strike at her with the same deadly readiness.

Hayate's heart was convulsing––never once in her life did she imagine the Wolkenritter would be the first to betray her––but she managed to stay calm and arrive at the logical conclusion.

"Well done," she said, her voice even and cold, "Alicia Testarossa."

"No," the girl in the white cape gave a quiet laugh, "Adrienne Sägebrecht. Thirty-fifth Sankt Kaiser of the Belkan Empire. The maker of the Book of the Evening Skies."


	4. Morgenhimmel

_**Chapter 4: Morgenhimmel**_

✭ ✭ ✭ Tuesday, January 27th, 11:10 AM, Earth time ✭ ✭ ✭

"This is beyond what I expected from you, Mary," said Admiral Chrono Harlaown, smiling at the young woman in the white lab coat who was standing and beaming in pride in front of his desk. "To be frank with you, I didn't think you would succeed."

"Oh, you're not being entirely honest here." Mariel Atenza gave a girlish laugh. "I bet you worry on a daily basis that I would blow up the R&D Division."

"No comment on the possibility of me being scared witless due to the mad scientist Dr. Atenza." Chrono glanced down at the holoscreen hovering above his desk. "All I _can_ say is that this report is welcoming news. I've been feeling uneasy ever since we realized what these things could do." A shiver ran down his back. "In any case, the Joint Chiefs would be relieved upon seeing this report later. You've already shown it to your boss, of course?"

"Yes. I would accompany the Director to your weekly briefing with the Lesser Council."

He winked at his old friend. "Dr. Impreza's going to hand in his resignation letter too, isn't he?"

Mary blushed and lowered her eyes to the floor. The Director of the R&D Division was an old man who had been waiting for a long time for a peaceful retirement. He had yet to do so because he had been grooming Mary to succeed him. There was little doubt in Chrono's mind that this report, which showed how hard she had worked and her sheer genius, would finally convince the good Director to entrust his Division to Mary's very capable hands.

Chrono picked up the small box on his desk and opened it. The sight of the object resting atop a sheet of blue satin no longer filled him with dread. All he felt as his eyes surveyed its contours was relief. Finally, this dangerous weapon would become a power to preserve the peace…

A second holoscreen popped up above Chrono's desk. On it was the picture of Yûno Scrya, who seemed to be running somewhere. The man's face, oddly enough, was bleached by fear.

"Chrono!" shouted the other man. "The one who attacked Nanoha was Alicia Testarossa! The magical signature was identical to Fate's!"

Chrono's mind went blank for a brief moment. Mary lifted her hands to her mouth and gasped.

"Did you contact Joachim Eschenbach?" Chrono said.

"I tried many times, but I couldn't reach him!" replied Yûno, who began to sound out of breath. "I'm afraid the communication channel has been compromised. Or worse…"

"Come straight to the spaceport," Chrono said quietly. "We will leave for Earth as soon as you board my ship. Mary, you stay here and attend the briefing with Dr. Impreza." He rose from his chair and hurried out of his office.

_Presea, _he thought as he began to run. _The woman must have survived and found a way to revive her daughter. _He gritted his teeth together, finally understanding why Yûno was in so much fear. If Presea Testarossa, a mage too powerful for her own good, had come to Earth, his family would be in great danger.

It was only after he had reached his ship did he realize he still held in his hand the small box that Mary brought to his office.

He decided that it was too late to return it to Mary and slipped it in his pocket. It might be of use if Presea indeed was the person behind the attack.

Chrono had no idea how right he was.

✭ ✭ ✭ Break ✭ ✭ ✭

Fate T. Harlaown was stunned speechless the moment she reached her bedroom. On her bed writhed Takamachi Nanoha, whose fingertips were clawing against the middle of her chest while her mouth let out increasingly loud and agonized screams. Light bearing the color of cherry blossoms was blazing furiously between Nanoha's breasts as if a miniaturized sun had dawned atop her skin, upon which her fingernails were depositing angry, red gashes as she tried to rip out the source of the light. The pain, burning and sharp, in Nanoha's voice could have been a knife in Fate's heart.

Wasting no more time, she invoked her magic. Light the color of molten gold flared around her friend's wrists and coalesced into binding rings. At a flick of Fate's right hand, the rings forcibly pulled Nanoha's hands away from her chest before she could do more damage to her body and pinned them at her sides. Another flick of Fate's hand summoned three more binding rings, one locking Nanoha's waist against the mattress and two around her ankles to keep her from thrashing any further.

_Raising Heart! _Fate hurled a telepathic scream at the red jewel shining atop the bedside table, right next to her Bardiche. No answer came. _Raising Heart! Answer me!_

_She does not have the strength to respond, Master, _replied Fate's own Intelligent Device. _All of her functions are devoted to helping her Master discharge her immense mana reserve._

Fate suddenly understood. The fierce light pooling in the middle of Nanoha's chest was the result of her Linker Core going berserk. The massive amount of energy residing inside the Core at any given time was no longer being properly contained and had begun spilling into Nanoha's physical system. It was this rampage of power that was causing so much agony.

Her heart breaking because of the painful wails being thrummed incessantly from Nanoha's vocal cords, Fate climbed onto the bed and sat astride the other girl's waist.

_Bardiche, you know what Raising Heart is doing, _she thought. _Be prepared to do the same._

_Yes sir!_

Fate placed her right hand above the midday sun blazing in the middle of her friend's chest and invoked a spell that would have get her arrested under normal circumstances. Tendrils of electricity bearing the color of molten gold emerged from her fingertips and proceeded to pierce into the cherry blossom-colored pool of light. Deeper and deeper they surged and delved until they found the convulsing source of Nanoha's magical power: her Linker Core. Around the Core they spun and spun until they formed a finely woven net, which immediately fastened upon the berserk magical pulse and fabricated a direct connection between Nanoha's Linker Core and Fate's own.

Core-jacking, an act outlawed by the TSAB years ago and punishable by death, was once used by criminals to invade their victim's memory space through a forced connection with his or her Linker Core and obtain whatever information they needed. With enough skill as well as power, a mage could even enslave another through link-jacking and imprison the target inside their own mind, for all eternity.

Fate had no other choice.

The moment the direct link between their Cores was established was the one in which Nanoha's mana thundered into Fate like a river overflowing in a flood. Pain burst in her every vein as foreign energy, alien to her and therefore poisonous, clashed with her own and immediately tried to annihilate each other. At the instance that Nanoha's screams began to subside, Fate howled. Her vision blurred as if it were freshly painted canvas that was doused with water, Fate felt her entire form shake and her blood boil in her veins under the terrible pressure exerted by the internecine forces inside her.

_Master! _called her faithful Device. _Master!_

It was then that she sensed a slight lessening of her pain and the return of clarity to her thoughts. As instructed, Bardiche, which had a direct connection to her Linker Core, had started siphoning magical energy from her. Immediately seizing the opportunity, Fate consumed every drop of her power. Magic circles burst into existence all over the room. As they rotated faster and faster in the air, they imbibed deeply from the deluge of mana thundering out of Fate's Linker Core and converted every drop into heat instead of using it to power destructive spells.

And yet, as magical pressure stabilized inside her and the mana influx from Nanoha showed signs of dwindling, she continued to scream at the top of her lungs because the pain did not die. Her body, as it was supposed to, did not stop resisting the infusion of foreign power even though Fate herself was trying to draw out every drop of mana from Nanoha's Core. In effect, Fate was trying to force her body to do something it considered harmful to her own well-being, therefore causing herself immeasurable agony.

Then she felt a presence that was cold and full of malice creeping out of Nanoha's Linker Core and into her own. Like a serpent baring its fangs at her throat.

Fear sank its claws into her.

✭ ✭ ✭ Break ✭ ✭ ✭

"Come in," Spaceport Administrator Johann Müller said when a knock on the door of his office made him look up from the document that had been occupying his attention.

"Everything has been done as you instructed, Mr. Müller," said his secretary as she entered. Her voice, just like her youthful face, was emotionless. Her eyes were dull. "The only flight scheduled for today departed an hour ago. No other staff member is aware that all incoming messages will be rerouted to your office first. No civilian is present inside the spaceport and the security office is working to ensure that no unauthorized entrance is permitted."

"Well done," he said, unsurprised by the monotone of his own voice. Inside him roamed a gust of fresh, pleasantly chilled air that would occasionally rise to his head to reduce all inconsequential thoughts he had to snowflakes that drifted entirely without purpose. It had been so long ago that he experienced such peace in his heart.

A small chime rose in the air. A holoscreen popped up above his desk, showing the new readings from the sensors placed in dimensional space. They had detected subtle vibrations that heralded the approach of a vessel of impressive mass. From what he could tell from the readings, he would guess an L-class warship from the TSAB. Since protocol dictated that an announcement be made well in advance to the destination spaceport from the approaching vessel, he would also say that the warship wished to remain undetected for as long as possible.

It was nothing he did not expect and know how to deal with.

Johann Müller rose from his chair and turned around. Behind him, in front of the immense glass pane that formed the back wall of his office, stood a young woman in a white cape who was looking up at the sky.

"Your Grace?" he called softly.

"Transmit the invocation," she answered in a voice just as soft but far, far colder.

He obeyed without question. Something at the back of his head screamed, but he could very well care less.

✭ ✭ ✭ Break ✭ ✭ ✭

The shockwave that struck the Arthra was so powerful Chrono Harlaown was literally thrown out of his chair and onto the floor. All of the lights in the bridge instantly turned red as a second violent tremor told him that the warship had lurched into a halt.

"Damage report!" he yelled and scrambled back to his feet. Behind him groaned his friend Yûno Scrya, whose back had been slammed against a wall. "What happened?!"

"A dimension quake of immense magnitude, sir!" exclaimed his Navigation Officer. "Shield down fifty percent but showing no sign of collapse. Hull integrity intact. No other damage detected." He suddenly fell silent as his jaw dropped and his eyes widened in horror at the holoscreen in front of him.

"What?" Chrono demanded.

"Local dimensional space has partially collapsed, sir," the officer replied in a voice breathless with disbelief. Other members of the bridge, who had been in communication with the rest of the Arthra to assess the ship's condition, stopped talking and all turned toward Chrono, their faces pale with shock. It was understandable. Had their shield not held up against the dimensional quake, the warship would have been ripped to shreds.

"We're now stuck in a dimensional shard that's too small for any emergency maneuvers," continued the officer, his tone growing bleaker with every word. "Until dimensional space mends itself around us, we won't be able to move or gate-out to interstellar space."

"Sabotage…" breathed Yûno. "But how does _anyone_ have enough energy to rupture the fabric of dimensions?" His breath caught and blood drained from his face.

Chrono's fists clenched at his sides and he hissed in anger. "How long would the mending take?" Space tended to repair itself as soon as anything catastrophic happened to its structure, but the process was never fast… or even orderly.

"We need space within a radius of five times the Arthra's size to stabilize," replied the Navigation Officer, "so I would say at least two days at the earliest. If we want to gate-out safely, three."

Chrono was deep in thought for a moment.

"When we gate-out, what will be our position in interstellar space relative to Non-administrated World number ninety-seven?" He sighed in relief at the distance figure that was reported to him. "Very well, continue to monitor the stabilization of dimensional space for me."

"Yes sir!"

"Yûno, walk with me. We need to talk."

The other young man sighed in what seemed resignation and said in a bleak voice: "I'm not going to like whatever you will say, am I?"

"No, you won't," Chrono agreed. "But we don't have a choice."

He turned and hurried out of the bridge.

✭ ✭ ✭ 9:20 PM ✭ ✭ ✭

"So, what is it you wish from me, Majesty?" said Yagami Hayate, her voice cool as she spun and rejected one plan after another in her head. None she came up so far would allow her to extricate herself from the spiritual links Shamal had jacked into her Linker Core, let alone escape from her own house unscathed. With the Wolkenritter arrayed against her like this, her chances were slim.

Even Reinforce Zwei could not assist Hayate. As soon as Shamal tied the threads of Klarerwind around Hayate's Linker Core, the older woman injected a spell that knocked Rein out cold without dissolving Hayate's Unison. The girl who claimed to be the thirty-fifth Sankt Kaiser had undoubtedly intended it to be a message to Hayate. Should she attempt something… unwise, Rein's life would end up as collateral damage.

"Release Aurora's Covenant," Adrienne Sägebrecht replied. The girl, whose facial features were uncannily identical to those of her best friend Fate T. Harlaown, was seated on a sofa in the living room. Next to her sat an unconscious Signum, a side of whose face was resting on Adrienne's left shoulder. The sight stoked an inexplicable fear in Hayate's heart. "Once you do, we will leave and you may continue living your peaceful life on this planet."

"Aurora," Hayate repeated flatly.

"Indeed. Aloïs 'Aurora' Signum was once her name. And it shall be again when she is free of you and returned to my service." If the fondness in Adrienne's voice wasn't clear enough, she lifted a hand and gently caressed Signum's left cheek.

Hayate resisted the urge to sigh aloud. _An old flame, of all things, _she thought. _A Sankt Kaiser at that. How did you manage to make a woman love you so much she crossed thousands of years to find you, Signum?_

"You succeeded in subverting the Covenants of my other Knights," said Hayate, her voice calm despite her inner turmoil, as she spared a glance at the blank faces of her dear friends. "I can't imagine why you would need my help in Signum's case."

Adrienne was silent.

"You _failed_, didn't you? I seem to recall that Signum began having nightmares not too long ago." The tightening at the corners of Adrienne's mouth told Hayate she had struck bull's eye. "She… resisted you subconsciously, I would guess. Among the Wolkenritter, the bond between she and I is the strongest, after all."

A wave of energy rippled along the threads of Klarerwind. Upon reaching Hayate's Linker Core, it exploded into a burst of pain so intense her vision darkened for a brief moment. Had she not bitten firmly down on her lower lip, she would have screamed. Had she not steeled herself, she would have crumpled onto the floor.

"Your will is strong for one so young," remarked Adrienne almost approvingly. "I admire that." Her eyes suddenly grew sharp enough to cut. "But you must realize that trying to buy time gets you nowhere. Your other friends are occupied at the moment. They will not be able to help you."

Hayate said nothing.

"You have a choice," continued her captor. "Either you will release the Covenant willingly… or _I_ will compel you to do it instead." She glanced at the threads connecting Klarerwind to Hayate's magical pulse and her lips twisted slightly in what seemed to be distaste. "I prefer the former."

"So you can have the pleasure of telling Signum later that her lover abandoned her?"

"No. I find the Core-jacking method you children came up with _revolting_. I will not resort to it if I can avoid it altogether."

The answer took Hayate by surprise. She fell quiet for a few moments.

"What will you tell Signum afterwards? You do know how she feels about me." It was evident to Hayate that Adrienne had been monitoring the Yagami household for a long time. "Even if you can obtain her Covenant, you can't possibly be satisfied knowing you command only her body, not her loyalty or her love."

"I need not tell her anything." Adrienne closed her eyes and smiled. "The memories of her previous incarnation sleeps within her, intact. If I wipe her mind _clean_ of your existence and resurrect her ancient memories…" Her voice trailed off. Her smile grew wider and more meaningful.

_Cunning woman, _thought Hayate, dismayed. _What did you see in a person this dangerous, Signum?_

"I have wasted enough time with you, Yagami Hayate. Answer me now. Yes or no?"

"I will not," Hayate said firmly. "If you want the dissolution of Signum's Covenant, tell _her_ to ask me for it herself."

"Very well." Adrienne sighed.

Klarerwind flared emerald on Shamal's fingers. Waves of power rushed along the threads of the Device and thundered into Hayate's Linker Core. She instantly lost control of her own limbs and sank painfully onto her knees. Horror rose inside her as darkness closed in all around her and her body grew colder and more distant with every passing heartbeat. By the time everything around her had been erased by an impenetrable screen darker than the heart of the night, she could no longer sense anything from her skin, feel the cold air which she had been drawing into her lungs, or hear a sound from the rest of the world.

She knew then that her soul had been captured and in the process of being sealed within its own physical vessel. Despair welled and engulfed her.

_No! _she screamed. _No!_

A golden sun suddenly dawned in the suffocating darkness and a voice, so warm and sweet and dear and familiar, sang a song that caused powerful ripples in the ethereal fabric of her soul.

✭ ✭ ✭ Break ✭ ✭ ✭

A deafening explosion made Adrienne Sägebrecht lift her head. High in the evening sky floated a ball of fire so massive bright its light could have been seen from a mile away.

By the time she lowered her gaze back to where Shamal and Yagami Hayate stood, there was already a new person in the living room. It was a young man with pale-gold hair and thick glasses. His slender body was clad in light battle armor and his hand clutching the hilt of a Device fully materialized into the shape of a spear, its short blade seemingly crafted entirely from the cold, pale-blue radiance of a winter sky. The point of same blade was at the moment lowered to the wooden floor, having sliced through the threads of Klarerwind itself with the contemptuous ease of a hot knife cutting through butter.

Yagami Hayate opened her eyes at the same time that immense power surged into life inside her body. Rage manifested on her young, pretty face as her staff flew from the floor and back into her hands.

"_Durandal!"_ shouted the young man before Shamal, Vita, and Zafira could react.

A snowstorm exploded at the heart of the living room and blanketed everything inside.

Still seated on the sofa with her body instantly enveloped by a powerful barrier, Adrienne raised both hands in front of her chest, her fingers fanning out as if holding an invisible sphere. Flames sparked from thin air between her palms and erupted into a wave of intense heat that swept outwardly in all possible directions. The snowstorm was burned away in less than a heartbeat.

And yet even as her vision was restored, Adrienne felt her internal organs turn to ice. Signum was no longer seated by her side. Instead, the young woman lay in the arms of Yagami Hayate, who was standing on the left wing of a fighter spacecraft hovering hundreds of feet above the ground. Assuming battle stance atop the right wing of the spacecraft was the young man who cut loose Yagami Hayate, his hands holding his Device so that its blade, at the moment shining even more eerily than before, was pointed in the direction of Adrienne and her Wolkenritter.

The bow of the spacecraft bore the insignia of the TSAB.

There was a loud rumbling in the air and a violent tremor in the structure of space itself. Higher in the sky, a dimensional vortex roared into existence and spun with such ferocity and power the spatial distortion it caused shredded the light of the stars into ribbons of light that could not help but be swept helplessly toward the violently spinning heart of the maelstrom.

It was as though something massive was about to emerge from dimensional space.

_A Bureau warship! _The thought chilled Adrienne. _How in the Heaven's name did it manage to get here after all I have done?!_

Suppressing the anger blossoming at the pit of her stomach, Adrienne swung a hand above her head. White lightning burst forth from the tips of her fingers in thin filaments, which then arced downward to spin themselves into a cocoon around Adrienne, Shamal, Vita, and Zafira each.

In a thunderous roar, Adrienne Sägebrecht and her vassals became four bolts of white lightning that rushed upward and disappeared into the evening sky.

It was only long afterwards, once the dimensional maelstrom had dissipated and no warship materialized above the ruined Yagami residence, did the thirty-fifth Belkan Sankt Kaiser realize in a fit of rage fit to burn the world that she had been deceived.

It was the first time that the cautiousness she paid for with her life and her Empire had failed her.

* * *

✭ ✭ ✭ Ancient Belka, Capital City, Alhazard ✭ ✭ ✭

* * *

The Commander of the Imperial Guards heard nothing but shouts as she approached the double mahogany door to the Sankt Kaiser's study.

"Why are _you_ out here?" she turned to address the young woman standing to the left of the door.

"Because pretending to _not_ be bored is very difficult inside," replied Laurien Ascona, who, despite having a friendly smile on her lips, had her right hand curled around the hilt of the Device hanging at her waist.

"What if the sour old man went for your employer's throat?" the Commander joked. "He doesn't have any self-defense skill and you know_ my_ employer would enjoy seeing the first thirty seconds of the strangling."

Ascona laughed. "I'll enjoy treating his injury afterwards, I'm sure." Her eyes seemed to gleam. "Speaking of which, I haven't fully healed from the ones you gave me during the Tournament."

"Neither have I."

"So do you want to have another go at it?" Ascona grinned. "I have perfected a new Fire-based invocation that I would _love _to try on you."

"Maybe another day," the Commander replied, smiling.

"Why not now? Aren't you _curious_?"

The Commander laughed. As a battle mage whose affinity to the Fire element was among the highest in the Empire, she couldn't wait to see what her fellow Fire user had in store for her.

"Because I have business inside, my friend." She gestured at the double door to the Kaiser's study.

"Well then, go ahead." Ascona's lips widened into a wicked grin. "Have fun!"

Shaking her head in resigned way, the Commander pushed the door open––she'd have knocked first had it not been for the explicit command to come right in––and saw a scene she had been forced to witness every day for the last couple of years.

Standing in front of the humongous wooden desk at the far end of the study were two men who couldn't possibly be more different from each other. The Chancellor of the Right, Lord Siegfried Rosenthal, was a short and rotund old man with a shiny bald head and an impressive beard that extended to his belly. The Chancellor of the Left, however, stood head and shoulders taller and, aside from lacking an aura of wisdom and experience that Lord Siegfried wore as naturally as he would clothes, looked far more impressive in every other way. When Lord Roland Ingvalt walked near any crowd, there would be at least one woman who fainted once she looked upon his handsome face. The man celebrated his _fiftieth_ birthday less than half a month ago, but his baby face deceived everyone into believing that his age was only half that.

"You need not shout so, Lord Siegfried," Ingvalt said calmly with a smile on his lips. "Her Grace and I can hear you just fine."

"Had you managed to listen to a _word _I said, the shouting would not have been necessary to begin with!"

"But I _have_ been listening. You were demanding that fifty thousand troops be deployed to that far-flung world, were you not? With all due respect, I find your reasoning woefully unconvincing."

"How many more times must I repeat myself? That worldyou speak of is in a star system that has been showing signs of unrest for the last few months. Unless you subdue the rebellion with overwhelming forces, it will _spread_." The old Chancellor issued a long, ponderous sigh as if to say he was no longer willing to endure the sufferance.

"Why resort to force when you have not even granted diplomacy a chance? I bet you do not even know why the people on Helheim toppled their own government and demanded independence in the first place."

"Since when do _empires _negotiate with insurrectionists?!"

"It is not _negotiation _when you want to find out what went wrong."

"The cause is not important! The fact that those brain-addled creatures _must_ be shown their place is!"

Deciding that she heard enough, the Commander made her way around the men and planted herself at the left side of the wooden desk, where she found the thirty-fifth Sankt Kaiser of the Belkan Empire sleeping soundly in her comfortable high-backed chair.

The Commander sighed, bent over, and murmured in a soft voice: "Somebody burned your research lab to the ground, Adrienne."

The beautiful woman in the chair opened her eyes in horror and would have lunged forward had the Commander not put a hand firmly on her shoulder and kept her seated by force.

It took Adrienne Sägebrecht about ten seconds to fully regain her consciousness and then direct a deep frown toward the Commander.

"There ought to be gentler ways to wake me up, Aurora," complained the Sankt Kaiser.

"They tend to not work, Adrienne. I should know. I _tried them all. _And why the heck are you sleeping in the middle of a meeting with your _Chancellors _anyway?!"

"You will doze off too when all they do is repeat themselves." The younger woman, who turned twenty-second last week, rubbed at her eyes and yawned.

"My apologies for boring you to sleep, Your Grace," said Roland Ingvalt, his cheerful tone showing not a lick of remorse. His counterpart only let out a loud harrumph and shook his head.

"Apologies accepted," said Adrienne. Before she could say another word, the Chancellor of the Left had already turned toward the Commander and gave her his most winning smile.

"Dear Aurora… Ow!" He let out a surprised yelp the moment his right temple was struck by a thankfully capped fountain pen that was flung at him with incredible precision by his liege. Rosenthal immediately turned, but his satisfied grin didn't escape the Commander's eyes.

"That nickname is not for you to use, Lord Roland," said Adrienne Sägebrecht.

"Apparently not even when she is my niece…" muttered Ingvalt under his breath, still wincing in pain. He then cleared his throat and said: "Commander Aloïs Signum?"

"Yes, Chancellor?" replied Signum, who was trying her best to suppress her wholly inappropriate amusement. There was only one woman in Alhazard, or maybe in the entire Empire, who would abuse Roland Ingvalt without mercy, and so it was hilarious to Signum, who had to endure seeing women throwing themselves at her dear uncle's feet so often.

"Would you _please_ tell me how you woke Her Grace so effortlessly? She kept doing it during our meetings and not even Lord Siegfried's loud, obnoxious voice failed to wake her."

"Why you…" grated the Chancellor of the Right.

"Well…" Signum began. She didn't go very far, though.

"One word out of you and I will cut your salary in half, Aurora."

Signum spread her hands and shook her head. Ingvalt sighed and turned to Adrienne's desk. The Sankt Kaiser didn't wait for him to speak up.

"Bring me someone from the Helheim rebels," she said. "I am interested in what they have to say."

Roland Ingvalt smiled.

"Hold on a minute here!" said Rosenthal, agitated. "Your Grace must know granting an audience will _embolden_ the insurrectionists!"

"My Grace is unsure how she would hear their side of the story without _talking_ to them," replied Adrienne, smiling. The Chancellor of the Left laughed.

"Send an emissary! Someone you trust! You cannot possibly _stoop _to talk to them directly just like that! What will the citizens think of your inviolate authority?!"

"_That_ is a most excellent suggestion, Lord Siegfried," said Adrienne. "You have twenty-four hours to submit to me the name of a capable diplomat."

Rosenthal's jaw dropped. "Wait a second! I did not agree to this approach…"

It was too late. Adrienne had already tossed him out of her mind and turned her attention to the other Chancellor.

"Lord Roland, you have the same amount of time to arrange adequate protection for the emissary. If a rebel manages to lay a hand on his or her person, I will have _your _head."

"As you command, Your Grace." Ingvalt gave her a deep bow.

"Hold on! Can I say something here?!" demanded the old man, his bald, shiny forehead flushed with an angry red.

Adrienne looked at him calmly, but her eyes were steel. "You were saying something about _my_ inviolate authority, Lord Siegfried, I recall."

The Chancellor instantly deflated. "Yes, Your Grace."

"You two are excused," the Sankt Kaiser said casually and turned to Signum. Taking the clue, the two men bowed to their liege and departed without saying another word. The double door to the study closed silently behind them.

"You could've told them that from the start, Adrienne," said Signum. "That would've saved a lot of time."

"But I _love _watching Roland infuriate Siegfried. Your uncle is _very_ good at it."

"If it were that fun, you wouldn't have dozed off like that."

"Because I did not get any sleep last night. Roland and I were chatting and playing chess until the morning." She yawned tremulously again. "I think he pretended to collapse around three in the morning so he could get away."

Signum sighed quietly. "What kind of sovereign _imprisoned_ her Chancellor at her palace all night and didn't worry at all about what other people would say?"

"One bored out of her mind," replied Adrienne. "Plus, you never run out of fun around him."

Signum looked at the bright, cheerful expression on her childhood friend's face and sighed again.

"In any case, the head researcher of the lab showed me an amazing toy today, Aurora!" Adrienne piped up excitedly as she picked up a small metal box from the top of the desk and opened it. Inside was a big jewel of a shade much lighter than sapphire on the outer layers but deepened into the exact same shade of one toward the core.

"What is it?" Signum picked it up.

"It is called a Jewel Seed. Do me a favor and relax the hold on your internal magical reserve."

Signum did as commanded and immediately gasped aloud. Her mana, the eternal flow circulating within her body, rushed to the hand holding the Jewel Seed and, like stones thrown into a lake, disappeared without a trace inside the many layers of the crystal. Hurriedly she reassessed control over her magical reserve, at which point the power leakage ceased.

"It is a power storage Device!" Signum exclaimed. "But I've never heard of one that _actively_ tries to absorb the mana of the one holding it!"

"It is rather… greedy, yes," the Sankt Kaiser agreed. "There is nothing you can do about it, however. Its very configuration forms an immense void at its core, so it is only natural that it tries to consume every particle of energy that touches its shell. Once it is full, it will stop... in a fashion."

Signum chewed on the revelation for a minute. "Given the rapid rate at which I lost my mana, it seems that its capacity is significant." She eyed her childhood friend. "How much can it hold?"

"Enough to power _Alhazard_ for a month," said Adrienne. "But that is _not _the amazing part."

"Then what is?"

"The physical shell, dear Aurora, is crafted from pressurized, crystalized energy itself. You cannot sense anything because of its solid state, but making one Jewel Seed requires a hundred times the maximum amount it contains."

Signum's eyes widened in shock. "Is it even… safe for you to carry it around?"

Adrienne laughed. "Look at your frightened face! Of course it is! The head of the lab said this thing is invulnerable to external forces. He guarantees it with his life."

"But then I do not see the benefit of having this." Signum frowned. "Not when it costs so much to make it." It was then that what Adrienne said struck her as if a slap across the face. The Jewel Seed slipped from her hand and fell… into the metal box out of which it was taken. The Sankt Kaiser, probably having anticipated Signum's reaction, had moved quickly and caught the device.

"_Catalyst!"_ Signum breathed.

"Ah, I know you would figure it out." The younger woman closed the lid and put the box back on the desk. "You are far more intelligent than you like to let on, Aurora."

"You called _this _an amazing toy earlier, Adrienne."

"Yes, I did."

"Are you _insane_?!"

"Positively not." The smile slid off Adrienne's lips as soon as she glanced up at Signum's face and saw what Signum knew to be rage and horror. A moment of very uncomfortable silence passed. "Oh," she said apologetically. "Point taken. I will tell the lab to cease all production."

"Thank you." Signum heaved a sigh of relief.

"You must forgive me, Aurora. I was so amazed by the ingenuity that went into this research that I forgot what it is meant to do."

"It's okay, Adrienne," Signum told her friend in her gentlest voice.

Adrienne Sägebrecht, thirty-fifth Sankt Kaiser of the Belkan Empire and the _most_ powerful mage Alhazard had ever seen, also possessed a nearly inexhaustible childlike curiosity and an unending love for research. It was a dangerous combination that once in a while would bring nightmares to Signum's sleep.

Signum had sworn that as long as she continued to draw breath, she would never let Adrienne's curiosity and research wander too far. She would serve as Adrienne's conscience if she had to.

Because were a catastrophe to happen as a result, the innocent Adrienne Sägebrecht would never forgive herself.

✭ ✭ ✭ Break ✭ ✭ ✭

"You have been smiling since you sat down, Your Grace," observed Lord Roland Ingvalt before he lifted a glass of wine to his mouth and took a sip. "I am happy that you are enjoying yourself, but I am sad upon thinking of the person whose soul you torment on a daily basis."

"It is just the two of us," replied the Sankt Kaiser, who was admiring the twin full moons on high with a bright smile on her lips. "Adrienne is fine." The air was very still, allowing the shadows of the moons to float peacefully, without disturbance, on the surface of the lake surrounding the gazebo beneath the tiled roof of which they sat. Lining the lake on all sides was the Emerald Forest the leaves of every tree in which were releasing the light they had absorbed since the sun rose and shining like their namesake under the twinned moons.

The scenery, beautiful as it was, failed to compare to the true radiance that was the Sankt Kaiser herself in Roland's opinion. He had had his share of good-looking women over the years, but he had never seen one more so than his liege.

_Life is quite unfair indeed, _he mused. _The most powerful mage in the history of the Empire, the most beautiful, and the most intelligent all rolled into one who sits on the Throne of the Enduring Light. If this universe is a piece of software written by God, she would be a bug._

"Why do you keep looking at the moon?" he inquired. "There is something far prettier, to you at least, on the ground fright in front of you."

"Because looking at _that_ for too long would cause my heart to burst."

"I was in fact referring to my magnificent self."

The Sankt Kaiser laughed and shook her head. "I, unsurprisingly, was _not_."

"In all seriousness," Roland said, smiling, "you have been avoiding Lord Siegfried."

"Who told you?"

"A servant in the palace."

"That really cute girl with braided hair and a mole under her left eye? She was hired last month, if I recall correctly."

"Who told _you_?"

"Oh please, Roland." Adrienne gave a rude snort that was very un-sovereign-like. "You could not keep your eyes off her whenever she came in to serve tea. I would be blind to not notice."

"What can I say? She is the one." The very same one whom the Chancellor of the Right almost trampled over as he stormed out of the palace after he was denied an audience for the fifth time in a week. The girl was quite, justifiably, scared. "But enough about her."

"I avoided Siegfried because he was being insistently annoying."

"You said that about _everyone_ who tries to give you good advice."

"Not Siegfried. Not on this particular matter."

"Now why are you so sure?" Roland eyed his liege.

"Because he got winds of a secret he is not _meant_ to know but insisted on learning more about it anyway."

The darkening of her beautiful visage told Roland that whoever tipped off his fellow Chancellor had paid a heavy price.

"There exists secret so severe a Chancellor who oversees _half_ of your army must not learn?"

"Because he _is_ who he is, yes." The young woman's sidelong glance was meaningful.

"I think it unwise. You would have benefitted from his counsel." Roland took another sip of the two-hundred-year-old wine.

"I did not know that you valued Siegfried's opinion that much."

"Not in some instances, no." He laughed. "But no one you know will ever deny that he is a wise and thoughtful man, Adrienne. He had served two Sankt Kaisers, including you, you know. Were I you, I would keep him close and listen to what he has to say."

"Your praise is wasted on him. He despises you, you little upstart." She laughed. "It rankles him to see someone rise to his position in less than half the time he needed, or are you not aware?"

"His animosity toward me does not invalidate my points. Though it does amuse me when I manage to occasionally trounce him in debates, I will readily admit."

"It is difficult being fair, is it not, Roland?"

"Easier than you think, my dear Adrienne. By the way, your project finally came to fruition, did it not?"

"How did you guess?"

"Sankt Kaiser, the last time you brought out the most valuable bottle of wine in your cellar was at the ceremony celebrating your ascension to the Throne of the Enduring Light. Even then, you offered me halfa glass before you tucked it away, dear my stingy Kaiser." He eyed the bottle on the table. No more than two glassfuls was left inside.

"You are correct, Roland." Adrienne poured the rest of the beautifully red liquid into the glasses. "And of course I must thank you for the all-nighters you put into helping me perfect its conceptualization. Without you, it would have forced me to spend a lot more time that I do not have."

"I did not help you out of kindness, as you are aware."

"Not in the beginning, perhaps," the young woman agreed. "But it ends up a great kindness toward me nevertheless. For that, I am eternally grateful."

Roland smiled and raised his glass. "Well then, let us toast to celebrate your success, and may you obtain your objective soon, my dear sadistic, childish, and overly proud sovereign."

Their glasses clinked, and Adrienne laughed.

✭ ✭ ✭ Break ✭ ✭ ✭

"I am _not_ depressed," Signum insisted as she strode forward along the lakeshore. To her right the forest glowed emerald almost too brilliantly to look at with naked eyes. To her left the water of the calm, undisturbed lake shone like a massive mirror under the twinned moons. At the heart of the mirror stood a small gazebo the tiled roof of which was supported by four pillars painted in vermillion and within which sat the Sankt Kaiser herself and the Chancellor of the Left.

Standing near the gazebo was the Captain of Lord Roland's household knights, Laurien Ascona. The young woman, dressed in the silver and blue colors of House Ingvalt as always, was studying her unsheathed Fáfnir, a Device bearing the shape of a greatsword that was hailed as one of the finest pieces of weaponry of the age.

"Sure you are, Commander," said her Vice-Commander, a tall woman with pale golden hair who had served in the Imperial Guards with Signum for as long as she could remember. Aside from having a keen and strategic mind, Helena Enright Shamal was an accomplished healer who had saved Signum's life numerous times.

Yet, even if Shamal had been a hundred times more skilled with healing, there were things that, once broken, could not be fixed.

"In fact, your mood soured with Lord Roland's arrival," Shamal added. "What trouble did your lecherous uncle cause you this time?"

"Nothing!" Signum replied brusquely and walked faster. To her dismay, Shamal kept up with little effort.

"If you don't want to talk about that, fine," muttered her second in a resigned manner. "We still need to discuss the details of Her Grace's upcoming trip to the Summer Palace, so will you come back to your office with me now?"

Signum stopped in her tracks and let out a quiet sigh. After glancing one last time at the gazebo, where she could see her childhood friend and her uncle raising their glasses in a toast, she spun on her heels.

"Yes," she acquiesced. "Please also summon the Lieutenant. I have a task for her."

"Vita's been waiting in your office the whole time, Commander."

That gave her a pause. "Then let's hurry back before she tears it apart."

"That may already be too late…"

✭ ✭ ✭ Break ✭ ✭ ✭

The Sankt Kaiser was seated at a table on the balcony when the Commander of the Imperial Guards entered the room, the door to which was left open. Adrienne Sägebrecht was dressed in no more than a flimsy nightgown that, under the light of the crescents on high, presented to all who would look the silhouette of her curvaceous form. Her long chestnut hair had been woven into a braid that was now resting on her front and occasionally stroked by her vacant hand. Her face, the skin of which shone with moisture from a recent shower, was thoughtful.

"You wished to see me, Adrienne?"

Silently, Adrienne moved the hand holding her wine glass to indicate the seat opposite hers. Signum sat down as suggested and immediately noticed the thick, leather-bound book next to the bottle of wine. Embedded into the cover was a golden cross.

There was no doubt that it was the reason why Signum was summoned to this private chamber.

"What is it?" she asked, already feeling a pang of apprehension.

"It is nothing like the Jewel Seed, Aurora." Adrienne put down her glass and laid her right hand on the book. "The Book of the Evening Skies… is made to save a life."

Signum's throat grew dry. "Whose?"

Her childhood friend looked up at her. Adrienne's lucent obsidian eyes were bright with hope.

"Yours."

Signum was silent for a few minutes. "Shamal talked."

"I made her talk. Do you expect a mage as powerful as I to not _hear_ the anguished _screams_ of your Linker Core?"

"I…"

"When did you plan on telling me you have not long to live?"

Signum lowered her eyes to the table. She had no clue as to when her own body began breaking down, but she only noticed it when every spell she cast caused pain to ripple across her body. No words could describe Shamal's horror upon her discovering that Signum's powers had developed past a critical threshold and led her Linker Core, in accordance with her magical growth, to demand far more than her constitution could provide.

As it continued to put an immense strain on her physical existence, the Core was killing her from within and nothing Shamal came up with slowed, let alone stop, Signum's impending demise.

"I… I should be okay if I ask for an Inhibitor, Adrienne."

"You are not a good liar. You know an Inhibitor will kill you _before_ your illness does." The Sankt Kaiser reached across the table and laid a hand on the middle of Signum's chest. The younger woman winced. "The Core has fused with your physical configuration to siphon _more_ from you. Locking it down with an Inhibitor will violently disrupt your bodily functions. Within one month your heart _will _fail. Leave it be and you will die in six."

Signum couldn't say another words.

"I know why you said nothing," Adrienne said gently. "You did not want _me_ to suffer during what little time _you _have left, did you?"

Signum nodded, already feeling as though her heart would break.

"Aurora, that is the cruelest thing you could have done to me."

Signum looked up at Adrienne, shocked. The younger woman's voice had been full of anguish.

"How would I live with myself afterwards knowing that I did _not_ devote all of my time to the one person who loved me more than I loved myself even as she was dying?"

Signum didn't know she was crying until Adrienne wiped a tear from her face. Very still she remained atop her seat as the ruler of the Belkan Empire fell to her knees in front of Signum and laid a side of her face on Signum's lap.

"How would I live with myself knowing that I never told her how much I loved her back?"

Emotions rushed out of Signum and spilled into the tears that rolled down her cheeks. Immediately she sank onto her own knees and drew her childhood friend into her embrace.

"I'm so sorry, Adrienne," she sobbed uncontrollably.

The Sankt Kaiser put her arms around Signum and held her tightly while she cried her eyes out. Only after she had begun to calm down did Adrienne speak again: "There is a way out, my dear Aurora."

A purple light flared into existence next to their faces. The thick, leather-bound book had lifted itself off the table and was now suspended in the air.

"The Book of the Evening Skies is the answer," Adrienne said. "I cannot do anything about the body you were born into, but if you are willing to bear the risk, I can have you reborn as a magical existence _I_ can sustain with my own powers."

Signum's eyes widened. Hope, which had been absent from her mind the moment she knew she was going to die, began welling inside her again.

"The Book's Guardian System can free you, Aurora," Adrienne continued. "Everything that you _are _can be safely stored inside and rebuilt at a later time. I can give you a reinforced physical form that can withstand your powerful Linker Core. I can, and will, give you your life back."

Once again, Signum dissolved into tears.

"You are my enduring dawn," Adrienne's voice whispered. "You are the brilliance that guides the way in my darkest moments. I will not let anything, not even mortality, take you away from me. Not even if I have to burn my Empire down to ashes to pay for it."

The kiss that followed was sweeter than anything Signum had ever tasted in her life.

✭ ✭ ✭ Break ✭ ✭ ✭

A groan drew Signum's attention while she was putting on her clothes. A second later, the thick curtains on either side of the double door that opened to the balcony slid into place and reduced the early morning sun to little more than a dim presence slowly climbing above the Summer Palace. Smiling, Signum turned to look at the bed, on top of which and on her front Adrienne lay, asleep. The bed sheet had been pushed all the way to the foot of the bed, thereby exposing the younger woman's bare, slim, and wonderfully curvaceous figure. Signum couldn't help but blush at the red marks she herself had deposited on her childhood friend's shoulders and back and bottom in the heat of last night's lovemaking.

Signum rounded the bed and gently tucked Adrienne under the silky bed sheet, but not before she brushed Adrienne's hair aside and placed a soft kiss on the nape of her neck. The younger woman stirred softly and mumbled something under her breath, but quickly sank back into sleep.

Signum put on the rest of her clothes, hung Lævateinn in its scabbard at her right hip, and left the room. The first person she met as soon as she arrived at the end of the hallway was Zafira, a wolf Familiar summoned by Adrienne herself. He had been with her years before her ascension to the throne and was among her most loyal vassal.

"You should go back and wake her," he said gruffly.

Heat flared on Signum's cheeks. The Familiar knew perfectly what happened last night, she realized. _He has to, _she thought._ He usually sleeps in her room to guard her sleep. He must have noticed that something was happening inside when Adrienne locked her door and installed a sound-proof barrier._

"Is there anything that requires her immediate attention?" she muttered, embarrassed.

"Lord Roland is scheduled to arrive in half an hour, or do you not remember?"

_Oh! _she thought. _He's Adrienne's only summer vacation guest this time._

"I think it's okay," she said. "It will take Lord Roland and his vassals a while to get settled in the Summer Palace. And I doubt he'd mind not seeing her for a while. They're too close for that."

"That's true," Zafira agreed. Yet, he continued to look at her sternly as though demanding a better explanation as to why the _Sankt Kaiser_ wouldn't be in the Throne Room to greet the _Chancellor _of the Left.

"Plus, I'd like her to have some more rest," she admitted, feeling her face burn again. "She didn't get to sleep until late… last night."

"Very well then." Zafira's face broke into a wolfish grin. "I guess she can. In her place, however, _you'll_ be the one leading his reception. You're the highest-ranked among us."

"I'll do it."

"Very well, please follow me. Your Vice-Commander and Lieutenant wait below."

Twenty minutes later, Signum found herself standing in front of the Summer Palace, a moderate-sized castle standing with its back against the Dietlinde Mountains and with its front facing huge swaths of grasslands that stretched for as far as the eye could see. Were one to continue due east, one would reach the beaches of the Lucent Sea, the white sand and sparkling water of which had been spared the pollution that defiled many of the developing worlds forming the outskirts of the Belkan Empire. Here in this world hundreds of lightyears away from Alhazard, nature was preserved and protected and allowed to grow to its perfection. Adrienne liked to say that once she had secured an able heir, she would immediately begin her retirement on this planet and never return to the Imperial Capital.

The roars of engines cut off Signum's thoughts and turned her head toward the sky. There, she could see the outline of a small spaceship that grew steadily in size as it descended toward the ground. In little time, the vessel, the sides of which were decorated with the insignia of the House of Ingvalt, had finished its landing several hundred feet away from where Signum, Shamal, Vita, and Zafira stood. No more than a few minutes had passed when a side door on the ship opened and a bridge was lowered to the ground. From the cabin the Chancellor of the Left emerged and eventually made his way toward the Summer Palace with several attendants behind him, all of whom, unsurprisingly enough, were good-looking women.

Her heart overflowing with gratitude at the sight of her uncle––Adrienne had informed Signum of the integral part Roland Ingvalt played in the crafting of the Book of the Evening Skies––Signum stepped forward and prepared to speak the formal words to welcome Adrienne's most distinguished guest.

She never had the chance to.

The smile was still frozen on Roland Ingvalt's lips when a bright light blossomed in the middle of his broad chest and a bar of solid fire ran him through and struck the ground. In stunned horror Signum watched as the Chancellor of the Left sank to his knees and, with eyes widened by disbelief, toppled forward at the same time that one of his attendant, her left breast now a big smoking hole, fell onto her back on the ground.

"_Shamal!"_ Signum shouted.

Chaos erupted. Just as Signum and her second rushed forward in the hope of reaching her uncle in time, Roland Ingvalt's attendants screamed and ran away whichever way they could. Yet there was _one _who stood still near the spaceship that brought the Chancellor to the surface. It was a young woman whose face was icily calm and whose right hand was holding a greatsword with its blade pointed directly at the unmoving form of the man to whom she had pledged her loyalty.

It was Laurien Ascona, the leader of Roland Ingvalt's personal guards.

The greatsword Fáfnir blazed into life with the same light that had pierced Ingvalt's body. Ascona wanted to make sure her employer was dead.

"_Schlagenform!"_ Lævateinn was already out of its sheath and transformed into a serpent of purple light that instantly sent Fáfnir flying from Ascona's hand before the weapon could discharge. Unfazed, the other woman leapt from the ground and caught the hilt of her greatsword in midair as if it had the weight of a feather. Suspended with her feet at the height of a hundred feet, Ascona gave Signum a cold look before she turned and sped away.

Signum made up her mind in an instant. She knew the three warships currently stationed above the planet would promptly be summoned to the surface to guard the Sankt Kaiser. She also knew the Imperial Guards inside the Summer Palace, among the best she herself had trained, would prove more than adequate to ensure Adrienne's safety until the warships arrived.

"Vita, assume command while Shamal tends to the Chancellor," Signum turned and shouted to her Lieutenant, who acknowledged the order with a salute. Face slick with sweat, Shamal herself was having her right hand an inch above Roland Ingvalt's gaping wound and trying to close it with the emerald light dripping like rain from her Klarerwind even as the man thrashed in pain and coughed up blood. Signum had never seen fear more _pronounced_ on the accomplished healer's visage.

"König, Anselm, Valentines, with me!" Signum barked, knowing that there was little she could do to help her uncle.

But she certainly could bring back the traitor who tried to murder him so he could mete out justice, should he survive, with his own hands.

✭ ✭ ✭ Break ✭ ✭ ✭

Adrienne Sägebrecht had barely finished putting on clothes when her door was kicked open and the second-in-command of the Imperial Guards barged in without preamble. Two more Imperial Guardsmen followed her, and it was the sight of the person that floated between them that drew from Adrienne a horrified gasp.

"Your Grace," Helena Enright Shamal began but was hushed by a wave of Adrienne's hand. In silence the woman watched Adrienne hurry to the bed, upon which a weakly breathing Roland Ingvalt was laid. In the middle of his chest was a big hole that was at the moment filled with a sphere of intensely bright emerald light, without which the Chancellor would have been dead before Shamal's shadow had a chance to darken Adrienne's doorstep.

But even such a complex invocation would not be able to keep him alive for much longer.

"I have the skill to heal him… but I do not possess enough power to carry it out, Your Grace."

Adrienne immediately understood. Saying nothing, she stepped back so Shamal could took her place at the bedside and planted herself behind the woman, on whose back she subsequently laid her right hand. From her own Linker Core power burst forth and rolled out in successive waves.

Shamal gasped at the sudden infusion of magical energy and trembled under its immense weight.

"Use as much as you need," Adrienne commanded. "Save him!"

"Yes, Your Grace!"

Shamal's right hand plunged into the emerald sphere that had been keeping Roland Ingvalt alive. His sudden screams, full of agony, tore again and again into the air of the spacious chamber.

✭ ✭ ✭ Break ✭ ✭ ✭

"Have you given up, Laurien Ascona?" demanded Signum, whose feet were planted firmly on the ground and whose eyes scanning for any hint of movement from the traitor to House Ingvalt.

Ascona herself had assumed a relaxed standing posture, her face so serene no one could have imagined that the same person tried to murder her liege lord in cold blood no more than fifteen minutes ago. The point of greatsword Fáfnir had been driven into the ground in front of her with her hands loosely resting on its pommel. Though it was Ascona who was now surrounded by Signum and three of her subordinates, Signum had a sinking feeling that bringing the captive to the Summer Palace wasn't going to be easy.

After all, the traitor was the one who made an abrupt descent to the ground during the chase and simply stood and watched Signum and the Guardsmen surround her.

Signum had seen too many battles to delude herself into believing that Ascona was going to give herself up and return to face the wrath of her employer.

"Of course not," the other woman replied, smiling.

The communication device Signum wore as a bracelet on her left wrist beeped aloud and a holographic screen unfurled to the left of her head.

"Commander!" called her Lieutenant.

"Yes, Vita?" replied Signum, her eyes still trained on Ascona. She wouldn't miss any unexpected movement from the woman and would counter with the full force of her might. The captain of Roland Ingvalt's personal guards didn't rise to that position because of a pretty face. Signum had always thought to herself that if there were a list of people in Alhazard whom she didn't want as enemies, the one in her custody at the moment would top that list.

"We have received word from Lord Roland's Chief of Staff aboard the Odin," said Vita. "They will send their own men to retrieve Ascona. You are to stand by and await their arrival."

"Very well." Signum heaved a mental sigh of relief. "How's the Chancellor?"

"Her Grace and Shamal are doing their best to save him." The Lieutenant gave a small pause. "No one can be sure whether he'll make it, but as of now, he's still alive."

Ascona's calm facial expression never shifted a hair. Not a hint of disappointment could be seen. The woman was acting as if what she heard was within her expectation, Signum thought. The three men she had brought with her, too, had realized that something was wrong, for their faces were tensed and she could sense power rising inside their bodies.

"Thank you, Vita," she said, and the holoscreen winked out of existence.

"Roland Ingvalt has always been a lucky man," said Ascona, her voice cool and unperturbed.

"Why did you betray him?" Signum demanded. "Why throw away your future?"

"That's a bit of a long story. Are you sure you have time to hear it?" Upon seeing Signum's terse nod, the other woman continued: "There was once a very young man born into one of the poorest slums of Alhazard and raised in nothing but hardship. By the time he reached the age of fifteen, his parents had passed away and there was not a single coin in his pocket.

"But he did not despair. He continued to fight to survive. When he was nineteen, he was hired as a household guard for a wealthy family. To this day, he didn't know whether it was luck or misfortune that led him to meet the eldest daughter of the head of that family… and brought them together."

Laurien Ascona's voice was soft, her eyes closed, but there was something _unseen_ swirling around her as she spoke and raising Signum's hackles. She had never seen murderous intent materializing in the physical world to such a degree before.

"A year had passed when the daughter realized she was with child. You know how rich folks are when it comes to this kind of thing, Signum. The man's employer went berserk at the news, and had the two not fled in time, they both would have been murdered. The following year, to them, was very rough, but the man was happy because the woman he loved was going to give birth to something he could truly call his own: a child." Ascona's visage darkened. "But fate wouldn't have it. His wife died shortly after the birth of the child and the man himself eventually had to give up the child because he knew if they stayed together, only one would survive."

Sudden engine roars echoing down from the skies forced Ascona to pause. A second holographic screen appeared, this time to the right of Signum's head. A quick glance told her that the noises had come from the descent of four Wagner-class warships. Three of them had provided escort to the Sankt Kaiser during her trip to the Summer Palace. The fourth, the famed Odin, was the one that had delivered the Chancellor of the Left.

"Ironically," continued Ascona, her voice clear and easily heard despite the noise, "Fortune began to favor the man once he gave up his only treasure. He changed his name and moved to a distant world, where he became a part of the local government and eventually came to _lead_ it. Fifty years later, he returned to Alhazard as the newly chosen Chancellor of the _Right_, Siegfried Rosenthal."

"So you've been hiscreature all along," Signum said coldly. "Was it Rosenthal who gave you the order to assassinate Lord Roland?"

The roars of engines grew louder, but this time they came from smaller, approaching vessels. Five transport shuttles had been dispatched from the warship Odin, she could see on the holographic screen.

"It wasn't Lord Siegfried," said Ascona, smiling. Head raised, she watched the shuttles come to a halt in the airspace above their heads and then begin their descent. No more than thirty seconds had passed when the small ships finished their landing and opened their cargo doors. Guardsmen in the silver and blue colors of House Ingvalt spilled out from inside and quickly formed a large circle around Signum, her subordinates, and the captive. She counted forty men, each holding a sword-like Device in his hands.

Undisturbed by what she saw, Laurien Ascona continued in the same soft voice she had been using: "For most of his life, Lord Siegfried had searched for the child he gave up. Only after he had returned to Alhazard did he realize how true that old adage about the apple falling not far from the tree was. His _son, _as it turned out,was adopted by a powerful House and quickly took advantage of the wealth of power around him. By the time Lord Siegfried found his son, the son had become quite formidable at the arts of power. With the Lord's secret help, the son rose to top of the _other_ pillar of Alhazard's government." Ascona turned to face Signum and gave a huge, bright smile. "The Chancellor of the Left."

All of the Devices held by the Ingvalt guardsmen moved at once. The points of their swords were no longer trained on Laurien Ascona. In her stead, they had found Signum and her subordinates.

Signum was too stunned for words.

"Lord Roland _knew_ you'd follow his would-be killer," said Ascona, smiling still. Seemingly without effort she lifted the greatsword Fáfnir with one hand and pointed it at Signum. Its blade grew bright with the color of flames once more. "You should be grateful to him, my friend. You cannot imagine how much effort he paid to keep you alive." Her smile widened. "His favorite younger sister… has always been your mother, after all." She swung Fáfnir in a wide arc.

The orange-red radiance obscuring the blade of the greatsword became a fiery whip that struck so quickly the heads of Guardsmen König, Anselm, and Valentines were flung from their bodies at the exact same time.

"_No!"_ Signum screamed the instant her subordinates' bodies hit the ground. Blood gushed out in nozzles as tears spilled from her eyes. _"No!"_

Laurien Ascona laughed.

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The Captain of the Wagner-class warship Götterdämmerung couldn't believe what the head of his CIC just told him in a shocked voice.

"Say that one more time," he commanded.

"One of the Odin's Gungnir cannons is trained on us, sir!" replied Chief Tactical Officer Anschültz, whose voice was trembling so much from fear it came close to breaking.

The command to raise the shield never left the Captain's mouth, for light had erupted all around him and scattered his physical form into a storm of elementary particles before he could speak.

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"It looks like my calculations are precise, Your Grace," said Lord Roland Ingvalt, smiling. Behind him, in the space beyond the balcony of the Sankt Kaiser's private quarters, three massive blossoms of fire were lighting up the sky with the intensity of a hundred suns. The Wagner-class warship under his command had just destroyed the Kaiser's own Götterdämmerung, Rhinegold, and Walküre with its main cannons. Flames would soon rain down from the sky and mar this beautiful landscape, but there was little Roland could do about the forthcoming destruction.

"You!" said Adrienne Sägebrecht, her entire body trembling with impotent rage. On the bed lay a man that looked every inch identical to Roland himself and was breathing softly as if immersed in a deep sleep.

"Thank you for healing _"me"_ and exhausting your magical power in the process." Roland looked again at the bed and smiled. "That is a wonderfully built replica, is it not? At this stage, it will only survive for another few hours before suffering a systemic structural failure. For the task I wanted it to carry out, however, it lasted long enough."

The Sankt Kaiser's body began to glow with a dim white light as her face contorted with rage.

"Oh my, you actually have _that much_ energy left." Roland was impressed, but he did not remain so for long. He quickly tapped on the small sapphire pendant he wore around his neck. A bubble of silver light sprang up around him and, before Adrienne Sägebrecht could release whatever power she had left, transported him out of her private quarters.

Roland Ingvalt reappeared inside the silver protective shield a thousand feet above the ground. He had yet to begin his free fall when a pillar of light was fired from the Odin above him and enveloped his body. In the blink of an eye, he rematerialized in the bridge of the Wagner-class warship. Everyone in sight instantly sank to their knees and pressed their hands on their left breasts in salutation.

Roland chuckled quietly.

Perhaps he should not have come to the surface to taunt the Sankt Kaiser, but he could not resist it. The look on the beautiful woman's face, to him, was worth more than the vast Empire he was going to take from her by force.

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Lieutenant Reinhilde Vita's mouth tightened at the sight of the advancing battalion. By a quick count, no less than two thousand battle mages had been dispatched from the Wagner-class warship Odin, every single one of them armed to the teeth. Standing behind Vita herself in front of the Summer Palace were a hundred Imperial Guards. More did come to this planet, but all of them perished when the Sankt Kaiser's three escort ships were shot down by the Odin. Although the hundred Vita had with her were among the finest of the Empire, the twenty-against-one odds just seemed so… insuperable.

A shield had been raised to protect the Summer Palace, but Vita knew not how many shots from the main guns of the Odin it could withstand.

_Signum, where are you?_

"Men and women of the Imperial Guards!" Vita intoned as she swung her Graf Eisen overhead. The Device sang with power and shone with an intense crimson light. "Protectors of Her Grace Adrienne Sägebrecht! Knights of the Clouds!"

"_Yes!"_ thundered the battle mages in response, their voices pure, powerful, devoid of fear.

"Are you ready to defend the Throne of the Enduring Light, the One Sun of Alhazard, and the Queen of the Morning Skies?" roared Vita once more. The radiance from her Great Hammer had grown so blindingly bright that it made the sun on high no more than a candle in the dark.

Their weapons and heads held high, the Imperial Guards answered her with a single, undaunted voice: "_Until our death! Until our ashes are scattered to the end of this world! Until their blood dyes this battlefield whole!"_

Crystalline chimes rang in the air and emerald light blazed into life with a ferocity that dwarfed even that of Graf Eisen. A few hundred feet above the ground Helena Enright Shamal stood, her hands at her sides and the four Rings of Breezes that formed Klarerwind brimmed with so much power that even Vita herself began to feel threatened by her spiritual pressure.

"Then I command you, Wolkenritter," said Shamal, her voice booming in the air, "obliterate any soul that opposes you on this battlefield!" She raised her arms, brought her hands together in a deafening clap, and flung them outward. _"In the name of the Enduring Light, kill them all!"_

Emerald lances rained from the sky toward the advancing battalion. Every shield that was raised in response shattered upon impact and the first wave of the Odin's mages died in the massive explosions in their midst. Mist the color of blood rose as if an impenetrable wall in the air

"_Charge!"_ Vita roared and soared into the sky.

The Imperial Guardsmen followed her into battle.

To the gate of death itself.

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Laurien Ascona couldn't help smiling in satisfaction at the kneeling posture of the Commander of the Imperial Guards. Ever since Lord Roland brought Ascona to the Imperial Capital, she had been trying to supplant Aloïs Signum as the finest knight in the Empire. Yet it was the other woman who stood undefeated every time the annual Tournament was held.

Ascona had never liked Signum. Had it not been for her Lord's benevolence, the woman would have suffered the same fate as her Guardsmen.

"You will regret _not_ killing me, Ascona," said Signum, her voice cold despite her tear-stained face.

"For your information, the armors we wear are Fire-aspected. Your Lævateinn wouldn't be able to get past our defense." She chuckled. "May I also remind you that it took everything you had to defeat me _alone_ during the Tournaments."

"No, not everything." Signum's whisper had the sound of a sword being drawn from its sheath. A chill ran down Ascona's back. "I never found it necessary to drain my _life _to defeat you."

Signum raised her left arm.

"Restrain her!" Ascona shouted. The guardsmen of House Ingvalt reacted immediately and invoked their powers. Chains wrought entirely of silver light rushed from the points of their sword-like Devices toward the prisoner in their midst.

A barrier woven from purple lightning sprang into place. Ascona's innards seemed to freeze the moment the chains of light, instead of being thrown back by the barrier, got caught between its electric weaves.

"Release your Devices now!" she roared.

It was too late; the encroachment had begun and ended in the same heartbeat. The silver color of the magical chains turned purple and all forty battle mages screamed in unison and agony at what Ascona knew to be the deadly electrical currents surging through their bodies. Smoke rose from their flesh and a _sickeningly_ sweet smell pervaded the air. An intense urge to empty her stomach clawed in desperation at her throat.

"Let them go!" Ascona swung the greatsword Fáfnir, its blade coated with a sheen of protective energy, at the lightning barrier. To her great horror, an immense force exploded outwardly at the edge of the blade as soon as it struck the purple lightning and hurled Ascona backwards several hundred feet.

By this time, flames were bursting out of her men's eyes and noses and mouths and ears. Their screams had ceased, but not the lingering voices in her head.

"As you wish," a voice colder than Alhazard's harshest winter replied. The lightning barrier dissipated. The forty blackened corpses instantly collapsed into piles of ash on the ground.

_Even I cannot… _the thought froze, then shattered at the sight of the other woman rising to her feet.

Knowing that another second of hesitation meant her death, Ascona flooded Fáfnir with all of her power and sent herself hurtling at her foe. Her form became an storm of hellfire that incinerated everything in its path. Even the air retreated from her furious advance

Her flames were snuffed out at a distance of several feet away from the Commander of the Imperial Guards and her body stopped abruptly in the air as if it had struck an invisible wall. Horror was all that was in her mind once she looked down and saw that her torso, her wrists, her ankles, and her throat had been bound by six purple ribbons the far ends of which all converged on a single amethyst gem on the back of Signum's left hand.

Wasting no time, Ascona summoned crimson flames on her body and tried to burn away the ribbons. She didn't succeed; the flames refused to come near the ribbons and any attempt of hers to put them there resulted in a mental backlash that struck her head like a hammer and sent colorful stars exploding across her vision.

"You bitch," Ascona breathed weakly. The purple noose was tightening around her throat. "How the hell did you keep such a powerful… Lightning-aspected Device secret… for so long?"

"Because the price is too steep to pay," said Signum. _"Gleipnir."_ Her left hand clenched into a fist.

Lightning surged into Ascona from each of the seemingly indestructible ribbons. She didn't stop screaming for a long, long time.

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There was little Lieutenant Reinhilde Vita could do but lie supine on the ground and watch the barrier protecting the Summer Palace shatter into a million fragments of white light. Her Linker Core was devoid of mana, her stomach pierced by a fiery invocation and bleeding so much she knew the last drop of life would trickle away from her body within minutes.

Not a single Imperial Guard was left standing or breathing except her superior, Shamal, who was lying on her stomach not a few feet away from Vita. The woman's left arm was gone, her clothes tattered and drenched with blood. Her pulse of life had grown weaker with every breath that left her body. Vita's heart clenched at the thought, no, the _knowledge_ that no one would be able to save the person who had brought so many comrades of hers back from the hands of the reaper.

Despite their initially successful efforts at repelling the advancing army, Vita and Shamal and the soldiers under their command were eventually pushed back by the overwhelming number of House Ingvalt's battle mages until all they had behind them was the cracking shield of the Summer Palace. The men and women around her, one by one, fell to the ceaseless volleys of flames and lightning and piercing light. The Guards she had known and led for years never stood again.

There was nothing else Vita could do.

The rumbling of thunder in the sky were the last sounds she heard before darkness closed in on her and took her away.

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Lord Roland Ingvalt was thoroughly impressed. The Sankt Kaiser's Imperial Guards numbered no more than a hundred, yet they managed to slaughter _half_ of the battle mages he brought with him to this distant world. They were a heated blade plunging into the block of butter that was the ranks of the Ingvalt soldiers. They were the fire that raged across a field of hay that had not seen rain for quite some time. The bloody corpses whose blood dyed crimson the vastness beneath the growing shadow of the Dietlinde Mountains stood witness to the might of the Imperial Guards.

_I suppose they are not named the finest of the Empire for nothing._

"My lord," said Roland's Chief of Staff, a middle-aged man who had been silently standing next to him in the bridge of the Odin and observing the battlefield, "we are ready to broadcast your message to the Sankt Kaiser."

"Very well." He rose from his seat. He had yet to command his communication staff to establish an open channel when he suddenly noticed from the holographic screens all around him that the scenery around the Summer Palace was not the same as what it was five minutes ago.

The sun had been stolen by an endless swath of storm clouds that obscured the sky and every color of the vast landscape––even the bright red hue of the blood spilled by both Ingvalt mages and Imperial Guards alike––had been reduced to little more than a lifeless gray.

Roland Ingvalt frowned.

One holographic screen flashed with a violent purple light and drew his attention. No more than a few seconds later, two others hovering nearby lit up with the same blinding brilliance. The first lightning blast that rattled the shield of the Odin and sent the alarms blaring was what brought him the _unpleasant_ feeling that his military campaign against the Sankt Kaiser might not end well.

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The Captain of the Twenty-seventh Mage Company was six hundred feet from the Summer Palace. He was so close to it he could already _smell _his much deserved promotion. Once he brought the Sankt Kaiser, whom he was told was without power and defenseless, he would finally achieve the honor worthy of his often under-appreciated military command.

A huge smile on his lips, he took a step forward and immediately took a jump back. He was glad he acted according to his intuition, for had he been one instant slower, he would have been sliced into two by a sword that was thrown from the sky with so much force half of its blade was buried into the ground.

Frowning, the Captain reached out and tried to draw the Device.

A wall of purple flames erupted from the sword so quickly not even a thought had formed in his head when he was enveloped and crushed in its fiery effulgence.

He died not knowing why.

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"_Fall back!"_ shouted the Lieutenant of the Twenty-seventh Company. _"Fall back!"_

It was a wise decision, for the rage of the heavens itself came after the fire. Violently bright javelins of light jabbed downward from the cloud-ridden sky. Explosions bloomed like massive flowers of flame and heat wherever the lightning struck the earth, melting rocks and consuming the bodies of unfortunate soldiers and leaving nothing but dust behind.

In the incessant roars of thunder the Twenty-seventh fled. In the dying screams of mages whose powerful defenses were nothing beneath celestial fury the Twenty-seventh fled. Beneath an ominous sky they died and died in droves, for the lightning pursued them as though it were a hungry beast and they its prey. Driven by the tremendous explosions, the earth itself furiously rolled toward them from behind in waves of golden fire and molten rocks. And so bodies continued to be torn apart and subsequently reduced to ashes under the overwhelming might of an enemy none of them had managed to sense, let alone perceive with their eyes.

The last thing imprinted upon the Lieutenant's retina was the sight of the Odin besieged by the brilliant hammers that descended from the heavens, its shield thinning after each strike, for everything around him suddenly turned into a whirlwind of blinding light and searing heat.

As the armor on his body and the ground beneath his boots melted away, he closed his eyes and offered one last prayer to his god.

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"The first shield has been sliced through!" shrieked an officer in the bridge of the Odin. "The second at eighty percent! It won't be able to withstand this assault for much longer!" As if on cue, the entire warship shook so violently Lord Roland Ingvalt nearly lost his footing and fell.

"It's been ten minutes!" yelled his Chief of Staff. "Why the hell haven't you found the source of the attacks?!"

"We found it!" replied a CIC officer, her voice ringing with triumph.

A large holographic screen unfolded at the center of the bridge, showing a sphere of bright purple light around which the storm clouds swirled and raged with their utmost fury.

"_Fire!"_ Roland's Chief of Staff screamed.

The lightning strikes that had been killing his House mages stopped the moment three pillars of light converged upon the purple sphere and triggered an explosion so powerful the clouds within a one-mile radius were instantly swept away, leaving behind black smoke and a patch of cerulean sky.

_Let us see how you survive three Gungnir cannon blasts, sneaky one, _thought Roland, smiling.

"Casualty and damage report!" the Chief of Staff demanded.

"Secondary shield at fifty percent! No damage to the vessel!"

The casualty report, as it turned out, painted a grimmer picture. Of the nine hundred and thirty-six Ingvalt soldiers who survived the Imperial Guards' wrath, four hundred and eighty perished under the lightning strikes. Craters, so wide and deep each could bury a hundred men, stretched from the Summer Palace all the way to the ground beneath the Odin, transforming the landscape from what was once a field of corpses to one that had been carpet-bombed several times over.

Roland gritted his teeth.

"Target is still alive!" someone shrieked again.

The bridge fell silent and all eyes swung toward the large holoscreen. The smoke had cleared and the patch of cerulean vanished; the angrily roiling clouds had again rushed in to reassume their complete dominance of the sky. Against the backdrop of all of that ominousness Roland saw a round shield woven apparently entirely from purple-colored ribbons.

Shock rippled across his body.

_A _shield_ withstood three Gungnir blasts, _he thought, stunned. Each was able to _vaporize _the heavily fortified bridge of a Wagner-class warship. There existed no armor in this world that could have protected anyone from a single shot of the main cannons of the Odin, let alone three.

Roland's Chief of Staff gasped aloud.

The shield unraveled itself on the holoscreen, revealing the form of a young woman he knew so well and loved.

Aloïs Signum. His niece.

_Laurien… _he thought. Grief consumed him and left no space in his mind for even a shred of surprise at his niece's power.

"_I am the Commander of the Imperial Guards, proud Knights of the Clouds," _Signum's arctic voice rang eerily in the bridge. _"I am the falcon whose wingbeats drives the waves of the Sea of Storms. I am the final sword and shield to the ruler of Enduring Light, the Heart of the Empire, and the Queen of the Morning Skies. In Her Grace's holy name, I command you to lay down your weapons and submit to her judgment."_

"Or else what?" Roland responded in a tone no less cold, already hating himself for having been too merciful toward his niece. The same one that killed the woman he loved and decimated what was left of his army. The same one whose life he had tried to save.

"_Death," _came the brief answer.

"Chief of Staff Kohler," said Roland.

"Yes, my lord?"

"I do not care if you must sacrifice every soldier I have left; wipe my niece from the sky."

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The Odin's fiery volleys missed Signum by a large margin and all subsequent blasts found nothing more than empty space, for she was the lightning storm that terrorized the cloudy heavens and the Odin but a block of metal awaiting her wrath. At a twist of her left wrist, each of the six ribbons forming the Gleipnir ensemble wove a pattern resembling a pentagram inscribed within a circle. From them death spun furiously out in the form of pillars of pure destructive light that razed across the battlefield from every directions, consuming flimsy defensive shields and human flesh alike in explosions that clawed at existence's very fabric.

Not a soldier dared or found time to fire at Signum. All they could do was flee from her wrath and perish beneath Gleipnir's omnipresent annihilation like the traitorous, pathetic, yet piteous insect each of them was. The will of the Ingvalt army had been broken.

The Linker Core inside her had been pulsing violently since she awakened the fearsome Gleipnir in front of Laurien Ascona. Starting from the instant in which she used it to burn the woman's subordinates from inside out, intense agony had been surging along the tendrils with which the Core had latched onto Signum's physical system. Every breath she drew into her lungs was fire and every movement she made summoned a murder of sharp needles in her veins. And yet she refused to stop her slaughter, for her rage could be soothed by neither the sight of death and destruction nor the waves of crushing pain that threatened her sanity. She wanted every Ingvalt mage and traitor to the Throne to taste the _despair_ they had given to the Imperial Guards and the _certainty _that none of them would be left alive.

So Signum launched herself at a group of soldiers, who pooled their meager mana together and erected a shield in the hope of repelling her. The ribbons ripped it apart and she landed in their midst before the shock could fade from their faces. Heart devoid of mercy, she willed Gleipnir to wrap its serpentine arms around a man each and catapult them at the warship in the sky.

Although the touch of the Device was brief, its effect was swift beyond imagination. By the time the human projectiles were a thousand feet in the air, their lives had been extinguished and their physical vessels converted to explosive energy. They collided with the second shield of the Odin as bombs, not human flesh. Fire blossomed all around the ship.

The Odin directed all of its firepower at her and the powerful missiles she continued to hurl in its direction, but there was naught an immense warship could do to a human that rode the winds as easily and naturally as she would breathe. So the Ingvalt soldiers continued to be massacred by the most powerful Device ever crafted by the hands of the thirty-fifth Sankt Kaiser while the impotent rage of the Odin and Roland Ingvalt himself failed to protect them.

The Odin decided to change tactics.

"_Aloïs," _Roland Ingvalt's furious voice thundered from the warship, _"you will surrender, or I shall liquefy the Summer Palace and your precious Adrienne Sägebrecht along with it."_

Even as she bestowed death to every Ingvalt mage within her sight, she had been keeping an eye on the warship. It was why she knew the Odin had trained all of its gun ports at the Summer Palace before her uncle decided to make his intention known.

A brief movement of her legs brought Signum to the front of the Summer Palace itself. On the ground next to her was her beloved Lævateinn with half of its blade buried in the ground. She drew it up and pointed the sword at the Odin.

"_Bogenform!" _the Blade of the Flame called out to Signum. Both the sword and its sheath, which had been hanging at her right hip, blazed into life. By the time the light subsided, she held in her left hand the massive metal bow that was Lævateinn's long-range offensive form.

"Vánagandr Protocol, initiate," she whispered at the waves of power surging almost uncontrollably from her Linker Core. The six ribbons of Gleipnir detached themselves from the crystal embedded into the back of Signum's left hand, twined with each other, and finally became a simple arrow as long as a man's arm. It was that arrow, the ultimate form of the Device Gleipnir, that she nocked to Lævateinn, her massive metal bow.

"All limiters, release," Signum commanded quietly. The arrow shone as its very physical existence was converted into energy. Winds howled and wailed and screeched around her. Space itself rippled outwardly to flee from her and the ultimate power of annihilation barely restrained at the tips of her fingers. At the same time, more mana coursed out of her Linker Core and poured into the unbridled brilliance unleashed by the Vánagandr Protocol. Her head grew lighter and her body colder with every second that passed.

Light flared fiercely from all visible gun ports of the warship Odin, signifying that her enemy had come to the conclusion that if he didn't shoot first, Signum would destroy him.

Darkness occupied her entire vision for a fraction of a heartbeat. A searing-hot, sharp pain jolted her Linker Core. A tremor rippled to the fingertips of her right hand, which was holding the arrow wrought from unadulterated power and the will to avenge the people she loved. Her knees began to shake as more surges of agony started their rampage across her body.

_No, not now, _she pleaded as moisture stung her eyes. _I only need a few more moments._

At the very instant that would have preceded her collapse, she began to see faint outlines of faces in the radiance of the arrow of yet-to-be-unleashed conflagration. They were all familiar to her, and she could give a name to each, for they belonged to the hundred Knights of the Clouds that had perished without her by their side. That each and every single one of her friends and comrades was smiling sent tears rolling down her cheeks.

_Be strong, _the gruff voice of the deceased Sergeant Anton König whispered in her mind. A hand, ethereal as the voice itself and with a wrist attached to nothing, pressed gently upon the middle of her chest. The raging waves of heat and disembodied metal shards were halted and the tremors ceased and her vision became so clear she could have been living in a world filled with fog prior to this very moment. She could see the other two friends she had lost to Ascona's Fáfnir, Anselm and Valentines, standing beside her, one holding her right hand and the other helping her steady the pure-energy form of Gleipnir so it pointed straight and true at the Odin in the distance.

_Grant our last wish, _the ghostly Imperial Guards spoke as one, powerful and resolute. _Leave none alive who dare oppose the Swords and Shield of the Throne! Kill them all!_

"For the Sankt Kaiser!"Signum roared.

_For the Queen of the Morning Skies! _chanted the fallen soldiers, their voices melding into a solemn battle hymn that calmed Signum's blood and soothed her soul. _For the glory of the Imperial Guards! Until our death! Until our ashes are scattered to the end of this world! Until their blood dyes this battlefield whole!_

Her mind steeled, Signum watched liquid fire erupt from the Odin and coalesce into a massive wave that thundered toward her and the Summer Palace. Light and heat flooded everything in sight.

_Fenrir, let your howl be heard until the end of time! _Signum's hand let go of the frozen radiance it had been struggling to hold back. It was as if the light never left the bow form of Lævateinn. It was as if the arrow simply _extended _into an impossibly long spear the head of which crossed the massive distance and struck the vast wall of golden fire spewed forth by the Odin's canons in less than the blink of an eye.

The tremendous amount of energy unleashed by the Wagner-class warship were no more than a piece of paper lit by a flame the way it was instantly hollowed out from where it was touched by Fenrir's blindingly bright spearhead and scattered into a shower of ash the color of molten gold. Undeterred even for a split second, the spear of purple light soared skyward still, pierced through the Odin's shield as if it weren't even there, and finally connected with the bow of the warship. A heartbeat later, crowns of fire erupted all over the goliath, sublimating metal with the contemptuous ease of a wildfire spreading across a field the dried grass on which had for years longed for rain. The mighty Odin, in a thunderous roar that shook even Signum on the ground, exploded.

Signum closed her eyes and let herself fall backwards. The warm, peaceful, and comfortable embrace of the dark claimed her.

_Goodbye, Adrienne._

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_I am sorry, Father, _rang the sole thought that dominated Lord Roland Ingvalt's mind as everything around him was swallowed by the purple noonday that had erupted inside the bridge. When it was about to wash over him, the liquid radiance took shape. Toward him rushed an army of soldiers clad in armors wrought entirely of light, their faces painted with the broad strokes of triumph and their hands all reaching for his throat. All he experienced in the moment that the ethereal forms reached him was a sudden lightness of_ being _as if the ambition ever weighing down on his shoulders had been swept away.

For the first time in many years, he rediscovered peace.

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The Throne of Enduring Light _was _comfortable, but not so much so it would distract Lord Siegfried Rosenthal from thinking about his next move. Though he had successfully taken Alhazard, most of the Imperial line of Sägebrecht had managed to escape his net. It was a major failure on his part.

With the exception of the House of Ingvalt, who fled Alhazard while sheltering the Sägebrecht bloodline, the nobles of the Imperial Court cared not a whit that Siegfried was taking the Throne and would support him as their new Sankt Kaiser so long as he preserved the power and privilege they previously enjoyed. For now, it would seem that once he extinguished the Houses of Sägebrecht and Ingvalt, his grip on the Empire would be secured.

The problem was that the task would not be easy, for the Ingvalt was powerful and there existed many formidable figures among Adrienne Sägebrecht's closest relatives. A deadly combination that might remain a thorn in his side for years to come.

_At least I will have my son, _thought Siegfried as he reclined against the cushioned high back of the massive Throne. _There is nothing he and I cannot conquer together._

The sight of his Chief of Staff hurrying into the Hall of the Sun with panic written all over his face brought a frown to Siegfried's own.

"Your Grace!" said Andrew Fleischer, his voice tight.

"It is unsightly to see you so, Andrew," said Siegfried coldly. "Calm down and speak clearly."

"We have lost contact with the Odin, Your Grace! We have tried repeatedly to establish communication again for the last half an hour, but no success." He swallowed hard. "A subsequent satellite scan of the surface of the planet Völuspá showed no sign of the warship."

Siegfried thought someone had punched through his chest and ripped out his heart.

"Any attempt of communication from my… predecessor?" he whispered. His hands trembled on the armrests of the Throne.

The one-word answer was thunder to Siegfried's ears. Blood rushed to his head and coldness invaded his body.

_The woman is alive, _he thought, trembling. _That means… that means…_

Darkness swallowed him.

✭ ✭ ✭ Break ✭ ✭ ✭

_Why did you not listen to me, Aurora? _thought Adrienne Sägebrecht bitterly as she brushed the hair of the woman she loved in silence. Still unconscious, the Commander of the Imperial Guards was breathing weakly atop the bed, her complexion pale and her magical pulse barely discernible. Aloïs Signum, still at the prime of her life, now looked ten years older than when she was carried into the room. To Adrienne, there was no doubt that her beloved would not survive the night. _I told you Gleipnir was a two-edged sword, that it drains your life force in exchange for power, that it should only be used to _save_ your life._

But Adrienne knew why Signum went so far. The older woman had realized that unless she swept away the entirety of Roland Ingvalt's forces, Adrienne would not be able to escape.

_What is the point of surviving without you? What is the point of escaping knowing Siegfried had taken my Empire and would soon wield all of his newfound power to locate me and destroy me?_

She rose to her feet and held her right hand forward with its palm toward the ceiling. The Book of the Evening Skies materialized above her palm in a flash of light.

_You and I will survive together, Aurora, _she thought. _I will not be able to stay at your side for a while, but worry not, your lieutenants and my familiar will be with you to keep you safe. _Signum's arrival when all hope seemed lost had allowed the Palace servants to bring Shamal, Vita, and Zafira back to Adrienne in the nick of time. Though all three were on the verge of death, they retained enough life to last until Adrienne concluded their rebirths into the Guardian System_._

Adrienne flipped the Book open and recited the ritual words. A gentle purple glow blossomed on Signum's chest and grew until it enveloped her fully and began to blur the boundary between her and reality itself.

_Sleep well, my beloved dawn, _thought the Sankt Kaiser, her eyes stinging with moisture. _I shall return to you soon, I promise. And when I do, no one will be able to take you from me again._

✭ ✭ ✭ Break ✭ ✭ ✭

On her knees, Lieselotte Voigt raised both hands overhead and solemnly received the two heavy tomes from her Sankt Kaiser. She had served as Her Grace's Chief of Staff and confidante since the coronation, but never before did she see such a grave expression on the young woman's face.

"Liese," said Adrienne quietly, "repeat the command I gave you back to me." She placed a palm on Lieselotte's head. A magic circle spun into view and lit up the interior of the room.

"Your Grace, I am to depart Völuspá this night with the rest of the vassals. Once I have brought the Books of the Eternal Skies to the Sanctuary, I will lie low and protect them with my life until you come for me. I will not trust no man or woman even if they are of Imperial blood. I will kill anyone who learns of the Books' existence or seeks to harm them. My life shall end before a soul that is not yours seizes control of their power. This oath I swear to you, and I shall guard it until my last breath, for it is my life, and any attempt to break one will shatter the other."

The magic circle dissolved into a blinding flash. The Sankt Kaiser withdrew her hand.

Lieselotte knew she had earned her liege's trust with her long years of service, but the Queen of the Morning Skies imposed a binding oath upon her anyway because the woman couldn't afford trusting another person anymore. Not after Roland Ingvalt betrayed her. Not after the trust and friendship she offered him killed everyone she loved.

"May the prayer and protection of the gods be with you at least until I come for you, old friend," whispered Adrienne Sägebrecht.

"Yes, Your Grace." Lieselotte Voigt held the Books of the Eternal Skies against her left breast and lowered her head. Tears welled in her eyes and overflowed. She couldn't bring herself to say it to her beloved liege, but she had a feeling that she was going to die before she met Adrienne again.

✭ ✭ ✭ Break ✭ ✭ ✭

"We have identified the lone magical signature in the Summer Palace, Your Grace," announced Andrew Fleischer, Chief of Staff to the thirty-sixth Sankt Kaiser of Belka. "It indeed belongs to your predecessor." Even if he were a hundred times more courageous, he wouldn't dare utter the name of the woman whose Enduring Throne his liege usurped. He knew that before the first syllable left his mouth, his head would fly, Chief of Staff or no.

"Aim and fire," commanded Siegfried Rosenthal.

"As you command." Andrew spun on his heels and raised his voice: "All ships, target the Summer Palace!" Glee seized him. The newly enthroned Sankt Kaiser had brought with him a fleet of fifteen Wagner-class warships, all of which were now anchored a mile above the Summer Palace. Within thirty seconds, the order would be received by every single one of them. Once they replied with their ready signals, Andrew would give the final command to unleash the gun ports, including those of the Gungnir cannons, and their hellfire upon the last hiding place of Adrienne Sägebrecht and ended the reign of the Sägebrecht dynasty.

"We have received an urgent message from the Summer Palace, Your Grace!" announced one of the communication officers. Her voice was, oddly enough, full of grief.

"Ignore it," the Sankt Kaiser commanded coldly.

"But Your Grace… it contains a picture of Lord Roland's body." The female officer, who was obviously once enamored with the late Roland Ingvalt, clutched at her mouth and let out a sob. "If we fire upon the Palace…"

The Sankt Kaiser's icy composure shattered. The austere sovereign reverted to an old man whose grief for his son still constricted his heart.

"Show it," said Siegfried, his voice trembling.

A holoscreen flashed into life in the bridge. In it, Andrew saw the Throne Room of the Summer Palace. On the floor, at the heart of the room lay the body of his liege's late son, whose upper body was without clothes, his hands folded atop his stomach, and his eyes closed as if in a peaceful slumber. Standing beside the man's unmoving form was Adrienne Sägebrecht in her battle armor, face serene and hands clutching the pommel of a sword the point of which rested dangerously close to Roland Ingvalt's head.

Andrew knew Roland was dead. A prior life-force scan did not reveal a second person alive in the Summer Palace.

"Could that body have belonged to… to…?" said Siegfried, his tone evincing both hope and despair. He turned to Andrew.

He looked again at the holoscreen and considered the possibility for a brief moment. "I believe it is Lord Roland's body, Your Grace," he said. "The replica should have disintegrated hours ago."

The Sankt Kaiser exhaled painfully and closed his eyes.

"Well then, we will come down and see what my predecessor wants." He turned and walked out of the bridge.

_The woman is cunning, _thought Andrew Fleischer. _She knows His Grace would do anything to take back the remains of his son. Well, almost anything anyway. _He frowned, however, as he looked at the holoscreen one more time. Something seemed… out of place. _Is it me or the woman has aged quite a bit since I last saw her? _

✭ ✭ ✭ Break ✭ ✭ ✭

Seated on the white-gold Throne with the lifeless body of the clone at her feet, Adrienne Sägebrecht calmly surveyed the men standing a hundred feet away from her, all but one armed to the teeth with all sorts of deadly Devices. Short and rotund frame clad in Imperial vestment that conferred upon him none of the frozen dignity of the Sankt Kaisers of old, Siegfried Rosenthal showed no sign of fear, and he had no reason to. Though little mana remained in her Linker Core––it was still enough for her to rip apart the body at her feet, nevertheless, and her enemies knew it––she could sense the layers of powerful barriers wreathed around Siegfried's person.

The old man knew it would take the power of a warship to shred his defenses. The old man also knew how little mana was left inside Adrienne's body before he came down here in person.

That confidence and cautiousness already proved to be his downfall.

Adrienne lifted her hands. A white sun erupted into life in the middle of the chest of the corpse laid at her feet. As expected from any soldier with a shred of training left in them, the mages behind Siegfried raised their Devices and fired indiscriminately in Adrienne's direction. Magic sang its violent and deathly song beneath the ceiling of the Throne Room as bar of flames and spears of ice and ropes of lightning roared toward the brilliant light, into which the mana that sustained their existence vanished without a trace.

When the light subsided, the first thing that Adrienne saw, much to her satisfaction, was the look of absolute horror on Siegfried's wrinkled face. The old man had recognized the blue crystal that had burst forth from the corpse's chest. It was the source of immense power that had kept disintegration from claiming Roland Ingvalt's replica. It was the very object into which Adrienne had poured a significant portion of her life-force. It was the once empty Jewel Seed she had brought with her because she did not dare leave it in the Imperial Capital.

"May you burn for all eternity, Siegfried," said Adrienne, smiling, as she tapped a finger upon the radiant gem and performed a complex invocation. The deep-blue core of the Jewel Seed turned blood-red and heat rushed outwardly in all directions.

Her mind filled with childlike wonder, Adrienne watched as the massive amount of mana stored inside the Seed was consumed by the myriad layers of the crystalline shell, the physical structure of which instantly suffered a rapid collapse and was reverted into pure, unbounded energy in a seemingly never-ending chain of violent spiritual reactions.

The Jewel Seed was never meant to be a storage Device. It was designed to be a bomb. One that released a hundred times the spiritual power it contained.

Adrienne could have set off the Seed without Siegfried in the Throne Room with her, for the explosion would have reached the warships themselves, but she wanted to make sure that the man would not have a chance to escape back to Alhazard so he could extinguish what was left of her bloodline.

_My duty to my family is done, _Adrienne thought and closed her eyes. Waves of heat so powerful she never imagined existed slammed against her and swept her away.

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Several worlds away, on the surface of the planet Niflheim, underneath the eternally cloudy atmosphere providing an ideal cover for those who wished not to be found, sat the spaceship that had carried Lieselotte Voigt and other Sägebrecht vassals from Völuspá. In a small room where there was no light huddled the slender form of the Sankt Kaiser's Chief of Staff, whose entire magical existence was devoted to the single task of sensing every possible movement within the spaceship. Her arms were cradling a small box as if she were a mother and it her child.

Inside that heavily protected box, without Lieselotte's knowledge, one of the two magical books came to life. As unadulterated power raged unchecked upon the surface of once-beautiful Völuspá, the pages of the Book of the Morning Skies slowly became filled with sorrowful words that chronicled the existence of Adrienne Sägebrecht, the thirty-fifth rightful Sankt Kaiser of the Belkan Empire.

* * *

✭ ✭ ✭ 11:32 PM, Present ✭ ✭ ✭

* * *

When Aloïs Signum woke up from her sleep, her head strangely clear and her memories restored, her current Master, Yagami Hayate, was seated on a chair by Signum's bed. Behind her stood a young man whose familiar face she hadn't seen for a long time. The handsome, bespectacled face of Yûno Scrya was heavy with worries. Hayate's was grave.

"I have bad news, Signum," said Hayate, her voice soft.

"Tell me," Signum replied. "I have so many things to say to you afterwards, too."

"Nanoha-chan has lost her ability to wield magic… and even her life may be in danger," said Hayate. Behind her, Yûno closed his eyes and exhaled painfully. "All of the mages in the local branch of the TSAB are incapacitated and in no shape to fight for us. Except for the body guards they provided for Nanoha-chan… but I doubt they will be able to offer much help."

Signum closed her own eyes. She had known for a long time that whatever personnel the TSAB placed on this blue planet could not be sufficient in case a crisis happened. She and everyone she knew had tried so desperately to change it, but their efforts were in vain. In the eyes of the decision makers in Bureau, Earth is simply a Non-administrated World that offered no strategic advantage and perhaps not even worth defending. They only constructed the Uminari branch in the beginning because they had hoped to recruit mages as powerful as Takamachi Nanoha.

"What else?" Signum whispered as she sat up on the bed and rubbed her forehead.

"The Arthra will not be able to get here any time soon," continued her Master. "Earth has been isolated from the rest of dimensional space." She paused. "And worst of all…"

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Adrienne Sägebrecht was standing on the roof of a skyscraper in Downtown Uminari and surveying the sea of moving lights of every possible color hundreds of floors below when the person she had been waiting for landed like a leaf several feet behind her back. Almost reflexively, the Wolkenritter assumed battle stance and silently pointed their Devices at the newcomer. Smiling, Adrienne turned around.

She could have been staring at her own reflection in the mirror, thought Adrienne, amused.

Aside from the Barrier Jacket she wore, the face of Fate T. Harlaown was identical to that of the body she currently inhabited.

"I know you would make the right choice," Adrienne murmured, pleased. "You and I are very similar creatures."

"Perhaps," replied Presea's other daughter. Her voice was quiet and filled with resignation. It was not as if she _had_ a choice, of course. She knew Adrienne was the only mage in this universe who had the power to save the person most important to her.

Takamachi Nanoha.

"You are well aware of what I wish from you," Adrienne said.

"Yes." Fate stepped forward, paying no attention to the Imperial Guards. When the girl with the golden hair was an arm's length away from Adrienne, she fell to one knee and closed her eyes.

The Knight of the Lake raised her hands. Threads woven from mana shot from the four-ring ensemble of Klarerwind and fastened themselves around Fate's powerful Linker Core.

"I am very sorry," said Adrienne, her own heart aching at the sight. Fate's crimson eyes had begun losing their youthful light, her beautiful face robbed of its expressive capability. "Worry not. I will return your freedom and the one you love once I have recovered my dear Aurora from your friend. This I promise you."


End file.
